Through the Ashes of Empires
by 0utfoxed
Summary: By a strange series of events, the Avalanchers find themselves travelling through forgotten and dying worlds, on a journey that will lead them to the origin of the Cetra... and Jenova. [Cloud x Yuffie, Vincent x Tifa]
1. Imperium

_Bearing down  
upon a path we choose  
chosen from the start  
living different rules_

_Existence  
something to cherish true  
I will not succumb to doubts  
that I hold onto_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 1  
Imperium**

* * *

Bright sunlight washed over the rocky plains, as the wind swept lightly across the earth. Slender hands stretched out towards the barren ground. A few seconds passed, and then a trickle of spring-green particles slithered up from the ground, weaving their way upwards. Blades of grass slowly rose from the fresh soil. In their midst, a small flower began to take form. 

The flow of lifestream gradually subsided, as the floral patch grew in size. Where a moment ago there had been nothing, there now stood a small area of verdant growth.

The young cetra worker rose to her feet, quite pleased with her small accomplishment. Syl was still only a beginner in the art of conjuration, but she was making quick progress, she had been told.

Dusting off her white robes, the silver-haired cetra glanced around her at the other workers out in the field, cetra farmers cultivating the arid landscape. Fertile fields were interspersed amidst tilled ground waiting to be raised, a far cry from the desolate wasteland that her forebears had been confronted with when they arrived on this world.

In the distance lay the capital of the Cetra homeworld, which had been similarly raised, its tall spires glistening in the mid-day sun. And in the center stood the great Crystal Palace, towering over all other structures.

Syl and the others were so consumed by their work on the ground that they paid little attention to the sky, which was slowly growing darker..

Less than an hour had passed, but the shades of night were already descending, and the stars had come out. Suddenly, one of the workers called out.

"Look!"

Syl looked up from her work, to see several fellow workers pointing towards the sky. She turned her gaze upwards, to see a circular, red shape falling from the sky. The cetra workers stood silent, as they watched the object's descent, transfixed.

In just a few short moments, the small meteor landed on the other side of the hill where they stood, causing the ground to tremble, and a small explosion of dirt to erupt from the ground.

The curious workers rushed across the hill, some stumbling along the way, to see what had occurred. On the other side, many cetra farmers had already gathered around the small crater formed by the meteor..

Syl gently pushed her way past the other workers, her curiosity overpowering her judgement as she made her way to the front of the growing crowd. As she neared the crater, she noticed that the others had turned their gaze towards the blackening sky again. Everywhere she looked, the sky was covered with the small, red meteors, descending ever faster towards the ground..

"The stars are vanishing." One of the workers next to her whispered in awe.

_'No, not vanishing..'_ Syl thought. '_They're being blocked out.._'

Like the others, she stood there, awestruck by the maddening, impossible sight.

A harsh sound, like a ragged breath, coming from below roused Syl and the others from their reverie. Through the vapors rising from the crater, she could have sworn that she saw something... twitching, moving in the smouldering blackness..

* * *

_'So it's come to this.'_ Emperor Mobius thought grimly, as he stood at the open archway window, watching the ensuing carnage outside. 

Untold meteors were raining from the sky, bombarding the planet. But that was only the beginning. Those... _things_ that they carried were cutting their way through the cetra workers and soldiers as if they were made of paper, overwhelming even their best practitioners of conjuration with sheer numbers. Where one was slain, ten others rose to take its place and cut down the slowly dwindling number of conjurers, then proceeded to join the others in tearing up the capital.

The sky had turned grey, smoke was rising from the innumerable craters, structures collapsed as the meteors indiscriminately smashed into them and exploded. Blood flowed freely in the streets, the terrified population fleeing from the unknown menace, their screams cutting through the air..

Thousands lay dead, and untold more would follow.

_'Bastards..'_

"My lord!" someone called. The emperor turner to face the royal retainer, Sigil, who was entering the room, bowing hastily. "You summoned me?"

"We are evacuating." The cetra emperor stated blankly.

"Evacuating?" the aging retainer asked, in a hesitant tone of voice. "Evacuating who, my lord?"

"Everyone," the Cetra emperor replied, turning back to the archway. "Every man, woman and child on the face of the planet."

"Then... the gateways?" Sigil asked, uncertain.

The emperor closed his eyes and nodded, a pained expression on his face.

"But... m-my lord," Sigil ventured timidly. "All of them? That will cause the essence.."

"I know," Mobius replied abruptly, cutting him off. He turned to face Sigil again. "Do it." he snapped, causing his retainer to snap to attention. He nodded hurriedly, then ran off to convey the orders he had been given.

Mobius sighed. '_If only we'd had more time..'_ he thought angrily, turning his attention back towards the carnage outside. _'Damn them..' _he cursed inwardly , slamming the cold marble wall with his fist.

He took one last, wistful look outside, before leaving his room and venturing out into the throne room. He did not know what these creatures were, but there was not a shred of doubt in his mind as to where they came from..

* * *

Syl ran across the scorched, burning fields, her robes and face stained with blood and dirt. She didn't know where she was headed. Anywhere but here. The capital! It would be safer than the open plains. At least, she hoped so.. She was beyond the point of exhaustion, yet she couldn't bring herself to stop. Not after what she had just witnessed. 

_Something slowly rose from the crater._

_Long, black retractiles slithered up from the gaping maw as the smoke cleared away, latching into the ground. A massive figure drew itself up from the pit. The alien being stood fifteen feet or more in the air, towering above the bewildered cetra. They had no idea what to make of their strange guest. The being was roughly conical in shape, with a thin torso and an elongated face that stood well out from its oily body. And rising from its back were what looked like large, fleshy, grotesque mockeries of wings._

_The creature gazed at them dispassionately through the thin slits that were its eyes._

_One of the more enthusiastic cetra rushed towards their visitor to greet it, reaching out to it with his hand. The look of enthusiasm on his face soon turned to horror, as his hand came into contact with the unknown creature's acidic skin. It responded by lashing its tentacle-like arms around the terrified cetra's body, cutting into his flesh with the needle-like hooks embedded in its epidermis._

_The other cetra backed away fearfully as their aggressor raised the terrified worker into the air, struggling to free himself._

_Syl watched in horror as the massive creature sunk its hooks even deeper into the man's body, then in one swift, effortless motion, tore the helpless cetra apart. Blood showered across her face, her heart pounding in her chest like crazy. She couldn't breathe, much less speak or scream out in terror._

_The being discarded its first victim, and began to advance on the other cetra, more tentacle arms shooting from its back, flailing wildly like a pack of frenzied snakes._

_She ran._

* * *

Entering the throne room, Mobius quickly brushed past the group of people frantically rushing in every which direction, and approached the wall behind the throne. He reached out to the wall's decorations and removed a large, crystalline blade which was set in the centre. He ran his hand lightly across the edges to ensure that they were still sharp, and they were, as sharp as they day it was forged. 

_'How I had prayed I would never have to lay my hands on you again..'_ he thought remorsefully, as he delicately handled the large blade.

"What's happening?" someone asked, as he slung the weapon across his shoulder. He turned to see his wife, empress Sariss and their daughter, Doyana. Sariss had a worried look on her face, and Doyana one of fear and uncertainty, watching the court in complete disarray.

"We're leaving." Mobius explained hastily, ushering his family towards the great corridor. On the far side the grand masters, the greatest of all cetra conjurers would be preparing the gates for their departure.

"Stay close." he warned them.

Immediate family, retainers, and soldiers gathered around them as they made their way towards the exit. Mobius readied his combat materia, just in case. Conjurers had the ability to borrow strength from the planet without relying upon such tools, but he was not one, and even by cetra standards was poorly skilled in the art.

Suddenly, the wall behind them came crashing down as a stray meteor smashed into the palace, causing the people furthest back to fall down. The court stood in silent awe, watching the unfolding destruction, as one of the creatures rose from the blackness of the impact site where the throne had once been, and began to make its way towards them.

"Run!" Mobius shouted, taking Sariss and Doyana by the hand, dragging them into the corridor. The people gathered around them ran as well, as the monstrosity approached. Two more meteors smashed through the walls on either side, and the emerging creatures joined the first one in its pursuit.

The three beings moved slowly, almost clumsily, but they were still deceptively fast, and making steady progress unlike the fleeing cetra who were now being slowed down by the crumbling walls and pillars, which formed barriers, impeding their progress and scattering dust and ash everywhere, making it difficult to see. The creatures smashed their way through the barriers as if they weren't there, snatching up and lashing away at any bodies unfortunate enough to fall within their reach, cutting and tearing away with the fleshy needles layered all over their arms.

Through the dust and smoke, Mobius could see a pale green glow at the far end of the passageway. The conjurers had already activated the gate. There was still hope..

He stopped, as one of the slower cetra fell behind and was snatched up by the rancorous creatures, who whipped him around as if he were a rag doll. Mobius focused on his materia, unleashing a bolt of fire to slow the creatures down. To his dismay, the creatures were slightly fazed, but showed no sign of stopping. The body they had caught, on the other hand, was now only charred remains. He turned and ran to catch up with the others.

Soon they had reached the gates, but their pursuers were not far behind. The semi-circular archway crackled with raw energy, focused in its center. It was their only escape..

Mobius felt someone tugging at his clothing from below. "Daddy!" Doyana called. Mobius knelt down next to his daughter, wiping away the tears streaking down her face.

"It'll be all right, Doya.." he soothed her. He picked the girl up in his arms, and handed her to Sariss.

"Take her. Go!" he told her. Sariss backed away from him, towards the gate, giving her husband one last, wistful look. Then she and her daughter faded from sight as they came into contact with the energy mass swelling inside the archway. Mobius tore his gaze away from where his family had been, and looked back towards the corridor.

As the crowd began to evacuate through the gateway, Mobius watched the three beings close in._ 'We're not going to make it,'_ he thought. _'they'll catch up before we can disable the gate on the other side.'_

He stepped forward. "Get the rest of the survivors through the gates!" he ordered the soldiers. "I'm staying."

"But.. s-sir, we cannot leave you behind.." the nervous soldier next to him stammered.

"You can," Mobius replied, drawing his blade. "..and you will."

The wavering young man stood there, still uncertain of what was transpiring.

"You have your orders, soldier!" Mobius barked at the frightened soldier, rousing him from his incapacitated state.

"Destroy the gate on the other side once you're through." Mobius told him, walking back out into the corridor, towards their pursuers, grim determination set in his face. The black shapes neared, tearing through the naturally formed walls of the castle, closing in on the lone cetra standing between the survivors and the gateway.

He might just be able to buy them enough time..

In one swift motion, Mobius cut the pillars flanking the entrance to the gateway, then swiftly moved out into the hallway as they collapsed, blocking the way.

There was no turning back now. The monsters might be able to break their way through the rubble, he thought, but not without going through him first. As the three creatures came nearer, he could hear their heavy, ragged breath, sounding almost like cackling, mocking laughter.

"Hear me now." The emperor addressed the three beings authoritatively, in a low, steady tone of voice, as they neared, towering over him. "You may think you have us beaten, but in the annals of our history, our descendants will know only of your treachery, your suffering and _your_ destruction!"

The monsters drew closer, callous to any threat. The palace crumbled all around him. He closed his eyes, took one last, deep breath, and hefted his blade for what would be his last battle..

* * *

**Author's notes:**

This chapter, as it should be fairly obvious, takes place several thousand years before the events of the game. Also, just so it's absolutely clear, it _doesn't_ take place on the FFVII homeworld.

Ps. Yes, I shamelessly nicked the title from the Machine Head album.

Edit, august 28 2006: Reuploaded this chapter with a few minor corrections.


	2. Wish You Were Here

_so_..  
_so you think you can tell_  
_heaven from hell?_

_blue skies from pain?_

_can you tell a green field  
from a cold steel rail?_

_a smile  
from a veil?_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 2  
Wish You Were Here**

* * *

The early midday sun shone brightly upon the town of Nibelheim. In the center of the small hamlet, slender hands gripped the edges of the old well. With a slight amount of effort, Tifa Lockheart heaved herself up onto the well, and sat down at the edge on the other side. She rested there for a while, simply enjoying the pleasant mid-summer weather and the cool breeze. 

The town itself was had been rather quiet that day. A few people were wandering around, but most were probably out town, or still in bed. After the Meteor Crisis had ended, there had been a great shortage of living space, and it didn't take long for some of those who had lost their homes during that period to settle down in places like Nibelheim. Now, most of them led relatively simple, relaxed lives here in the countryside. Tifa was glad to have some company there. Living in a completely deserted would have been unbearable... and yet she felt that she would have stayed, even if no-one else had..

She closed her eyes and smiled knowingly to herself as the tattered ends of a wine-red cape partially draped around her in the calm wind.

"There you are." she said, as Vincent Valentine knelt down behind her. A moment passed in comfortable silence. Tifa swung her legs absent-mindedly, as Vincent caressed his hand down her arm and took her hand into his.

"So, what do you suppose Nanaki has to show us?" Vincent mused, breaking the silence.

"I don't know.." Tifa replied, "...but he said it was important."

Vincent nodded, gently running his fingers through her raven hair, admiring her beauty.

"It looks like Cid is late... like always." Tifa said, partly to herself.

"I guess we'll just have to wait." Vincent replied.

"That's ok." Tifa replied, pulling up one knee under her arms, leaning back. "I don't mind waiting."

"Do you?" she asked, smiling and looking up at Vincent.

Vincent smiled back, wrapping his arms around her. "Not at all." he replied.

Tifa giggled slightly as he pulled her closer towards him, leaning in..

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Rocket Town, Cid Highwind was enjoying his new favorite pastime: Rooftop Golf. He was standing on top of his house hunched over a tee, taking a slow drag from the cigarette clamped between his teeth, and eyeing a particularly juicy target.. 

A few months back a group of giant, bat-like monsters had decided to nest in the remains of the rocket launch pad. They were mostly harmless, but awfully noisy and Cid didn't care much for them making a home out of his precious launch site, useless as it now was. A little sentimental value went a long way, after all.

He swung hard, sending the tiny ball flying through the air, and was soon rewarded with angry, screeching noises coming from the enraged creatures.

"Yeah!" he called excitedly, waving his club around in the air victoriously. "Hole in one, bitch! Hole in fuckin' one!"

He raised a fist at the now-scrambling critters, then took a good, long drag from his cigarette, and overall felt quite good about himself.

"Cid, phone!" Shera's voice came from inside the house.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm comin'.." Cid replied. He vaulted down from the roof, landing semi-gracefully, and walked inside the house. Shera handed him the receiver, giving him a disapproving look. Cid accepted it with an apologetic grin on his face, which caused her to chuckle slightly.

"Yeah?" Cid answered brazenly into the receiver.

"Cid?" Nanaki's deep, rumbling voice came over the phone.

"The one and only." Cid replied boastfully.

"You _did _remember that we had decided to meet up in Cosmo Canyon today?"

_"Cosmo Canyon..."_ Cid thought,_ "...shit". _Two days ago, he'd received a phone call from Vincent. Something about the group meeting up to discuss some important thing which Red wanted to show them. He'd forgotten all about it.

"Uh... yeah, we're flying over there right now." Cid lied sheepishly, glancing out the window at the newly redesigned Highwind, as if to make sure that it was still in its place.

"Just uh... need to pick up Barret and Reeve in Corel, and we'll be right there." he continued, fumbling with the phone cord.

"And Shera is coming with you?" Nanaki asked calmly.

"Um.. yeah, yeah, she is." Cid replied, stroking his chin.

"And I assume that you are taking your house with you on this little trip, since I am speaking to you on your home phone." Nanaki's voice continued.

"Uh..."

"You haven't left yet, have you?" Nanaki replied nonchalantly, with a hint of amusement in his voice. Cid knew that he had been caught.

"Heh... not really." he admitted, scratching the back of his head.

The voice on the other end gave a slight chuckle. "Well, you should be getting on your way. The others are probably waiting by now."

"It's real important, this thing you want to show us, huh?" Cid asked, in a more sober tone of voice.

"It might be." Nanaki answered cryptically.

"Can't you just tell us?"

"It's... probably better if you see it for yourselves." Nanaki replied.

Cid shrugged. "If you say so."

"Besides, it'll give us all chance to meet up again." Nanaki added. "So you're on your way now?"

Cid chuckled, blowing some smoke and putting his cigarette out on the windowsill, much to the dismay of his wife. "All right, all right. Keep your fur on! I'm comin'." he replied, grinning.

"See you soon."

"Yeah. Bye." Cid slammed the receiver back on the handle, and headed for the doorway. "Guess I'd better get goin'." he explained to Shera. "The big chief's gettin' ornery."

"What's this about?" Shera asked as he stuffed on his old, worn pilot jacket.

"He didn't say. Just keeps saying 'you really need to see it' and 'it's important'" Cid explained.

"It's not going to be dangerous, is it?" Shera asked in a concerned tone of voice.

"Oh, don't worry, hon." Cid reassured her. "It's probably just some fungus that he's growing. It won't take long." He walked over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before heading out the door.

"See ya." he called, casually waving goodbye.

"Cid?" Shera called after him, poking her head out of the doorway. He turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Forget something?" She reminded him, waving a pair of keys. She threw them over to Cid.

"Heh.. thanks, hon." Cid replied, turning back to the path leading towards his new airship.

* * *

The boiling hot afternoon sun beat down hard on the black-clad figure making its way through the bustling streets of New Corel. Reeve had decided that wearing his usual attire consisting of a finely pressed black suit and tie had _not_ been such a good idea after all. The fact that he had to carry a rather heavy, black briefcase, which he was currently using as a makeshift umbrella, wasn't helping much, either. 

The former Shinra executive looked decidedly out of place amongst the rather burly miners and workers moving about in every which direction, shouting orders and carrying supplies and tools back and forth. After reaching the center of the town, he stopped by one of the workers at the entrance of a nearby mine to ask for directions. The worker pointed him further into the mine, where he finally met who he had been looking for.

Wearing a hard-hat and wielding a large pneumatic drill was none other than Barret Wallace, who was apparently completely oblivious to his surroundings as he drilled away into the rock wall. Reeve had to shout over all the noise that the drill was making for Barret to notice him. He switched off the drill and turned around, adjusting his miner's helmet slightly, his eyes brightening at the sight of an old friend.

"Hey, long time, no see." he greeted Reeve, giving him a short but rather painful bear hug. Reeve nodded as the big man let go of him. "Likewise." he replied, half-breathless. "How's the mining coming along?" Reeve asked, raising his voice slightly to be heard above all the industrial noise.

"Too damn slow!" Barret replied. "I'm up to my armpits in work." The grin on his face told Reeve that he wouldn't have it any other way.

"So, what's a big shot like you doin' over here?" Barret asked.

"Nanaki said he had something to show us, remember?" Reeve reminded him.

"Oh... is'at today?" Barret asked, scratching his head, looking a bit sheepish at forgetting when they were going to be picked up.

"Cid should be here in a few minutes." Reeve replied, checking his watch. "If he's not late, that is.." he added.

"Awright, let me just get my things." Barret replied, motioning for Reeve to follow him out of the mine. The two men walked through the busy town, doing their best not to get in the way of the workers moving around in every which direction.

"How's Marlene?" Reeve asked conversationally.

"She's good." Barret replied. "I had 'ta hire a babysitter, though, 'cause I'm real busy these days."

"So I see."

"Where's ya Cait?" Barret asked.

"Cait?" Reeve replied, "he's in the shop. I still have to work out a few kinks in his AI."

They stepped inside Barret's house, which was more of a worker's hut than a proper building.

"So, who's coming, anyway?" Reeve asked, as Barret crammed various equipment and clothing into his backpack.

"Well, 'course there's Cid an' us." Barret counted. "Tifa and Vincent are comin' too, I think."

"I thought Tifa was in Kalm?" Reeve asked.

"Nah, she moved back to Nibelheim. She and Vincent hooked up about nine or ten months ago, I heard."

"Oh, really?" Reeve asked.

There were still a couple of people missing, he noticed. "What about Cloud?" Reeve asked.

"Said he'd drive over there. He's takin' a ship to Del Sol, so he'll be in Cosmo soon." Barret replied.

Reeve paused, counting the remaining person.

"So the only one not coming is..."

* * *

Yuffie Kisaragi yawned and stretched, laying her head back down on the hot sand. Somehow, staying in Costa Del Sol wasn't turning out to be as much fun as she'd hoped. She watched, bored, as people enjoyed themselves on the beach, or at least tried to. 

_"Ho-hum... another boring kid bugging his parents... another boring couple breaking up over some stupid thing, or making up... another dumb pair of tourists messing with their cameras... another boring ship pulling into the boring harbor..."_

_"Wait a minute.."_ she thought, as she spotted a familiar face, emerging from one of the ships that had recently entered the harbor. There was no mistaking who it was. His clothing was similar to the old navy blue SOLDIER uniform he had always worn, but darker in colour, and somehow seemed more like it had been designed with the uniform as a rough template. Curious, she got up, brushing off the sand, and followed him as he towed his motorcycle over to a nearby cantina and walked inside. Grinning mischievously, she snuck over, following him inside and tip-toed over to where he was sitting with his back to her.

She discreetly slipped her hands over his eyes. "Guess wh-" she started. Before she could finish her question, however, she found herself being locked by her left hand's wrist, with small dagger pointed close to her face.

"Ow! Not so rough!" she yelled.

"Yuffie?" the puzzled swordsman asked, releasing the girl.

Yuffie grimaced, rubbing her sore wrist. "What, you don't remember your bestest best friend?" she asked, sounding somewhat irritated by his not-so-friendly greeting.

"Sorry." Cloud Strife apologized. "Nervous reflex." he explained, sheathing the knife under the long sleeve where it had been concealed. Some of the other patrons had noticed the small ruckus they had caused, and were looking their way. Yuffie quickly shot them a dirty look, and they went back to minding their own business. She sat down opposite to Cloud, who was looking at a newspaper and writing something on a small napkin.

"So... long time, no see." Yuffie said.

Cloud nodded. "Likewise."

"What have you been doing with yourself all this time?" Yuffie asked.

"A little bit of this, a little bit of that." Cloud replied curtly.

"Could you be a little more vague?" Yuffie asked, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"You know... taking odd jobs, travelling." he elaborated. "You?"

"A little of this, a little of that." Yuffie replied, mimicking Cloud, causing him to chuckle slightly.

"I see.."

He looked up from what he was doing, and finally took a good look at the girl sitting opposite to him. She had aged slightly, but he could tell that she was still unmistakably the same cute, spunky and occasionally hyperactive ninja that he'd met a little over a year ago. Her choice of clothing had apparently changed little as well. She was sporting a thin , black sleeveless shirt with a white floral pattern worn underneath a grey jacket, unzipped, as well as a pair of khaki shorts and her trademark headband, complete with its long tails, which fell behind her shoulders.

A waitress arrived at the table, cutting into their conversation. "Can I get you something?" she asked, raising a pen to her notepad.

"I'll have a Sol Crush." Cloud replied.

"A soft drink? Isn't that a little weak for you?" Yuffie asked.

"I'm driving." Cloud replied simply.

Yuffie turned to the waitress. "One Black Sand Cooler."

"All right." the waitress replied, penning down their orders. "May I see some ID?" she asked, looking at the young girl. Yuffie hemmed and hawed.

"Uh.." she started sheepishly, searching her pockets. "I must've left it in the hotel.."

"She'll have a milkshake." Cloud told the waitress, who nodded, smiling, and made the necessary adjustments. Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him irritably.

"You shouldn't be drinking too much at your age, anyway." he replied.

"Cloud, don't patronize me." Yuffie chided him. "I'm not a little kid, okay?. I'm _seventeen_ years old."

"I wouldn't dream of it, your highness." Cloud replied amusedly.

"Shut up.." the young kunoichi replied sullenly, leaning forward and resting her head on the table.

"That's right, I forgot. You don't like to be reminded of your title." Cloud said.

"It's not that.." Yuffie replied, sighing.

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

Yuffie sat up again. "My dad and I. We.. kind of had a fight, and I left." she explained. "Again."

"Oh.."

The waitress arrived with their drinks, and Cloud paid up, leaving a small tip. "Seventeen..." he spoke up again, putting his drink down. "So I guess I missed your big day."

"Yeah, you still owe me a present." Yuffie reminded him, brightening up somewhat at the thought.

Cloud smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."

They sipped their drinks. While they did so, Yuffie tried to get a closer look at what he had written on the napkin. It looked like some kind of map..

"So.. what are you doing here, anyway?" she asked, curiously.

"I'm headed to Cosmo Canyon to meet the others. Red said he wanted to see us all about something important."

"That's strange." Yuffie replied. "He didn't call me."

Cloud noted that she sounded slightly like she was feeling left out. "He probably thought you were in Wutai." he explained. "You didn't take your PHS with you, did you?"

"I kinda... left it behind." Yuffie reluctantly admitted. "Cosmo Canyon." she mused, drumming absent-mindedly on the table. "Isn't that kind of far off?"

"Not anymore." Cloud explained. "Ever since the people back in Corel started mining again, they created a series of tunnels in the mountains." He slid the napkin over to the young ninja, pointing at the crude map he had drawn. "I'm taking a shortcut through here, and I'll be over on the Cosmo plains on the other side in no time."

"What is it, anyway? This thing Red wants to see you about?"

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't say."

He got up from the table, taking back the miniature map and stuffing it in his pocket. "Well, I have to get going. So, I'll see you later.."

"Uh... yeah. Later.." Yuffie replied, watching him leave. Then she rushed off to her room at the hotel to pack..

* * *

Cloud was mounted on his motorcycle, doing a last minute check-up before heading out, when he saw Yuffie running towards him. "Hey, can I come with you?" she called. He saw that she had her small backpack on, with her trademark windmill shuriken strapped to its back, apparently travelling very light. 

"You sure?" Cloud asked. "You'll probably be bored."

"Are you kidding me?" Yuffie replied, walking over to him. "I'm bored out of my skull _here_!"

Cloud nodded. "All right. Hop on." he replied, gesturing towards the back of the bike.

"Hold on tight." Cloud warned her, as she sat down, wrapping her arms around his waist. "This could get a little bumpy." He continued, revving up the engine. She couldn't help but notice a slight tone of mischief in his voice..

A few moments later, as they speeded out of the small resort town, she cursed herself for not thinking of her motion sickness earlier..

* * *

**Author's notes:**

1. This chapter picks up where 'Benighted' left off, if you're curious about the Vincent/Tifa relationship.

2. As you can probably tell, I've borrowed the characters' Advent Children outfits. At least some of them. I figured that the characters would have to change their clothes _eventually_..

I guess there's not much else to note, for now. Please leave a review on your way out. Next chapter coming shortly!

PS: Ri-chan, if you're reading this... I know a certain part of this chapter bears a certain resemblance to a certain other story by a certain other writer. Rest assured that it's not intentional plagiarization or anything. It's just for location purposes. Honest! (stop looking at me like that!)


	3. Anomaly

_I'm leaving to search for something new  
leaving everything  
I ever knew_

_a hundred years in the sunshine  
hasn't taught me  
all there is to know_

_the valley  
we will gather there,  
helpless in our surrender  
tomorrow the plough becomes the sword  
make us stronger, in our danger_

_time will pass away,  
time will guard our secret  
I'll return again  
to fight another day_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 3  
Anomaly**

* * *

"Are we there yet?" 

Dust kicked up from the ground, as two figures hurtled across the barren Cosmo Plains, now painted bright red by the setting sun. Cloud skillfully handled the powerful motorcycle, deftly maneuvering past pillars of rocks, dodging gaps and craters in the ground without any apparent effort. By now, driving across harsh terrain had become second nature to him and if anything, he seemed to be enjoying himself as he sped through the rocky valley, amidst the large rock formations, nearing Cosmo Canyon.

Yuffie, on the other hand, was definitely _not_ having a good time. She had been fine up until the moment they had left the main roads, and then her stomach had decided that it couldn't take any more, hence her terse question. It wasn't the first time during the trip that she'd asked, by any means..

"How many times are you going to ask?" Cloud replied, sounding slightly irritated.

"I'll ask until we get there." Yuffie answered, sounding a bit weaker than she had intended, due to her nausea. She lowered her head, kicking herself inwardly for thinking that it would be a _good_ idea to ride on a motorcycle across the rockiest terrain on the western continent. The wind whipped at their hair and clothing, and she knew that if she let go, she would most likely end up as a neat red stain on the dusty ground, so she pretty much held on for dear life.

Cloud opted not to reply, but instead tilted his motorcycle slightly to the left, jumping down onto a lower level of the canyon floor. Yuffie's stomach lurched as they landed hard on the ground below, and the rear suspension kicked in.

"Did you _have_ to do that!" she shouted over the wind.

"No, but wasn't it fun?" Cloud replied, glancing back at her for a moment, before returning his attention to the trail ahead.

"Speak for yourself" Yuffie said, lowering her head again and closing her eyes. _'Geez, when did you grow such a devil-may-care attitude?'_ she thought to herself. He _did_ seem to be in better spirits than the last time they had seen each other. Maybe going away for a while had done him some good, she thought. However, it wasn't doing _her_ very much good at the moment..

"Look." Cloud said, interrupting her train of thought.. Yuffie looked up to where he was pointing with his right hand. and saw the Highwind In the air, some distance away from them, closing in on Cosmo Canyon.

"Looks like they beat us." she remarked wryly.

"They haven't landed yet." Cloud replied, throttling up the gas, causing the bike to go even faster. Yuffie felt her stomach lurch again, trying to escape through her mouth. She braced herself, leaning her head down on Cloud's back, wrapping her arms tighter around his waist, and prayed that they would get to their destination as soon as humanly possible..

* * *

The Highwind had just landed some distance away from the village of Cosmo Canyon, its propellers still spinning down. Tifa, Cid and Barret were on the ground, making their way towards the gates that separated the isolated village from the rest of the world, shouldering their respective equipment packs, and Vincent and Reeve were coming down the landing platform, when suddenly they heard a loud noise in the distance, slowly growing louder. 

The sky was turning black, with the sunlight now only a red line on the horizon, making it hard to see. Peering out at the horizon, they just barely made out a cloud of dust rising in the distance. The dust vapor slowly gave way to a familiar figure, racing towards them on a motorcycle.

"Heeey, look who showed up." Barret said, as Cloud drew up to the gates, where the rest of the group had gathered. At first it had looked as though he was alone, but as he drove up closer they all noticed a second figure sitting behind him, slumped over.

"We're here." Cloud said, turning to the worn-out kunoichi sitting behind him as he slowed the bike to a stop. Yuffie still had her head bent down, and for a moment he wondered if she had dozed off. Finally, she untangled herself from the ex-soldier's figure, and stiffly got up from the still-running motorcycle.

"Enjoy your ride?" Tifa asked amusedly, approaching the two of them, noting the weary look on her friend's face as she dismounted from Cloud's bike.

Yuffie retched. "If I never get on that thing again, it'll be too soon." she replied, pointing towards the motorcycle, which Cloud was busy towing off towards the entrance of the village. Tifa chuckled at her comment.

"Hey, man. Haven't seen you in a while." Barret greeted the spikey-haired swordsman as he put his ride away. "Where you been?"

"Just traveling. Keeping busy, you know?" Cloud replied. "You guys?" he asked in return.

"Eh, same old." Cid replied, putting out his cigarette and reaching for another one.

"It's good to see you again." Tifa said.

"You too." Cloud replied, nodding.

"Ah, you're all here." Nanaki's deep voice sounded above them, interrupting the brief reunion. The fiery-maned beast walked down the etched steps of the cliff to greet everyone. "Glad to see everyone made it."

"Hey, fur face." Yuffie replied, petting Nanaki on the head, feeling somewhat better. Nanaki grunted irritably at this and snapped at her hand semi-playfully. "Why didn't you call me?" she asked in a scolding tone of voice, placing her hands on her hips.

"Well," Nanaki began. "..the strangest thing happened." he explained. "I called your residence in Wutai.."

"...right."

"...and your father answered..."

"...uh-huh.."

"..and I asked him about his daughter.."

"..and?" Yuffie asked, exasperated.

"...and he said that he had no daughter." Nanaki explained calmly.

Yuffie sighed, shaking her head. "Typical dad."

"Must have been one hell of a fight." Cloud remarked. "What was it about?"

"Take a wild guess." Yuffie replied, walking up the steps of the canyon, making a dismissive motion with her hand.

"Tradition." The others remarked in unison, looking at one another.

"He wanted me to settle down and get married to some rich loser!" The Wutaian princess shouted from above. "Forget that!"

The others chuckled, following her and Nanaki up the steps. The village of Cosmo Canyon had changed little since the last time they had been there. Time almost seemed to have stood still for the small settlement, unlike nearly every other corner of the world, where people were frantically racing to expand and improve their surroundings.

The group arrived inside the first cave, by the weapons smith. Nanaki paused, turning around. "You all brought your weapons as I requested?"

"Yeah." Cid replied. "So what's this all about?" he asked, echoing the thoughts of everyone around him.

Nanaki shook his head. "Frankly, I don't know yet."

The others looked at him, puzzled.

"Come on. I'll show you." Nanaki said, motioning for everyone to follow him to the observatory. "You can leave your equipment here for the time being. We probably won't be in any danger for the moment."

"Probably?" Reeve asked, wondering why their four-legged friend was being so cryptic. Everyone removed their backpacks and most of their weaponry, leaving it on the floor next to the weapon maker's shop. Cloud knelt over his equipment pack, idly rummaging through some things in it.

"Cloud, you coming?" Tifa asked, as the others began to follow Nanaki up the second set of stairs.

"Be there in a sec." he replied, turning his attention again to his equipment.

Tifa shrugged, and joined the others.

* * *

"I've configured the Observatory telescope to give you all a good view." Nanaki explained as the Avalanche members climbed up the narrow staircase to the second floor of Cosmo Canyon's famed Planetary Observatory. 

"Take a look." he urged. The others gathered around the device. Several viewpieces were fixed to the main telescope to allow multiple viewers at the same time. The Avalanche members placed their eyes to the viewpieces, some of them taking turns, as there were not enough pieces to accommodate everyone.

"Ah, will you be joining us?" Nanaki asked sardonically as Cloud arrived in the Observatory.

"Sorry." Cloud replied sheepishly. "Just taking care of some maintenance."

He joined the others in their observation. The telescope was set at a low magnification, and pointed towards Ajit, the lost city of the Ancients. The night air was still in the hallowed ruins, and none of them could make out anything of grave importance..

"Do you see it?" Nanaki asked.

"I can't see shit.." Cid muttered.

"Me neither." Cloud said.

"Wait for it." Nanaki explained patiently, lazily wagging his tail as the others huddled around the telescope.

Suddenly, a low burst of pale green light emanated from deep inside the ruined city. It lasted only for a brief second, and then faded again. Barely a minute passed, and then another, longer flash followed. The group gathered in the Observatory tensely waited for a third, which never came. Eventually, they gave up on waiting, and moved away from the telescope. Nanaki looked up at them expectedly.

"That's it?" Cid asked, breaking the silence, sounding rather unimpressed. "That's what you brought us all here to see?" He shook his head and reached for a cigarette. "Fuckin' tourists waving around flashlights.." he muttered under his breath, lighting up.

"Cid, I sincerely doubt that a group of tourists would bring a floodlight with them to the Ajit ruins." Nanaki replied admonished the pilot. Cid gave a nonchalant shrug, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Also," Nanaki continued. "doesn't that colour remind you of something?"

Cloud instinctively knew what it was. It was the colour of the essence of everything in existence. Something only he and a few others had ever come into contact with. Something he'd never forget..

"Lifestream.." he said, to no-one in particular.

"Exactly." Nanaki replied.

"You think it's swelling up over there?" Reeve asked.

Nanaki shook his head. "I don't think so. We'd be seeing something other than just occasional flashes of light, if that were the case.." he sighed. "...It's strange. This has been going on for the past few days now, and I have no idea what it is or why it's happening." he looked up again. "That's why I called you all here." he explained, speaking up. "We'll need to investigate, and, if it turns out to be dangerous, we'll all be properly equipped and in numbers."

Reeve nodded. "Makes sense to me." The others nodded their agreement.

"You're all probably tired." Nanaki said. "Why don't we rest for the night, and leave in the morning."

"Good idea." Tifa replied, stretching and yawning. "It's getting late."

"Sounds like a plan." Cid answered, heading for the stairs.

* * *

The group, following Nanaki, wandered into Cosmo Canyon's common room. The small, circular chamber was essentially one large communal bedroom, filled with stuffed pillows and warm blankets, intended for groups to stay in for short periods. A cast-iron brazier hung from the ceiling, providing a sliver of light for the cavern room. 

"Where do we put down?" Yuffie asked.

"Anywhere we like, apparently." Tifa replied, picking a spot near the far wall. The rest followed suit, settling down in one end of the room or the other. Most of them were pretty tired, and ready to simply drift off to sleep. Seeing as how the cold air flowed freely into the room from the outside, they decided to sleep with most of their clothes on.

After a half an hour, nearly everyone was asleep. Yuffie tossed and turned for a while, unable to fall asleep outright, even though she was tired. She looked around the room at the others. Cid had fallen asleep almost instantly, and was happily snoring away, loudly. Reeve and Barret hadn't had any problems falling asleep either. Nanaki turned over occasionally, subconsciously waving his tail.

To her surprise, Yuffie noticed that Tifa and Vincent were huddled together, in a more intimate way than that of just friends. She couldn't quite tell if they were asleep or not.

_Did Cloud know?_ she wondered. _If so, did he mind?_ _Maybe he didn't.._

_"Wait. Why do I care so much..?"_ she thought to herself. She looked over to the swordsman who was lying down in the opposite side of the room. She couldn't tell if he was asleep or not, either.

She sat up, watching the soft light emanating from the brazier play across his features. Her expression softened. She knew the answer to her question, even though she had firmly tried to deny it..

Maybe he was past the point of caring, entirely. That might explain his impassive behaviour..

_"Are you really that callous? Does nothing get to you?"_ she wondered, gazing at his still form. _"Or are you just good at hiding it?"_

Of course, there was no answer. Just silence. She sighed, shivering from the cold. Laying back down, the young ninja pulled the blankets closer to her body, closing her eyes, and fell into an uneasy sleep..

* * *

The morning after, everyone was gathered around the Eternal Flame, which had been kept alight by generations upon generations of those who lived in the valley. The group had just eaten breakfast, and was now preparing to leave for Ajit. Some of them were leaving for the Highwind, while others were making last-minute checks on their equipment. 

"Damnit.." Yuffie grumbled, rifling through her equipment.

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

"...can't find my..." she muttered, not turning around.

"Hey."

"Hmmm?" Yuffie turned around, standing up.

"Here." Cloud replied, handing her a wide, thin parcel wrapped in plain brown paper.

"What's this?" Yuffie asked, puzzled.

"Open it." Cloud urged. Yuffie tore open the paper to reveal her missing shuriken. it had been polished to a fine sheen, and the edges were sharpened to perfection. In addition, someone had apparently made several intricate adjustments to its weight.

"I asked the weapons smith to make some improvements on it, based on your fighting style." Cloud explained.

"Why did..?" Yuffie started to ask.

"Just a little something for missing out on your big day." Cloud explained. "And, uh.." he continued, scratching the back of his head, looking somewhat discomfited. "for, you know.. patronizing you earlier."

Yuffie turned away, taking a few practice swings. "Whoa, this is great. So light.." she said to herself. She turned around again and gave the bashful swordsman a tight hug.

"Thanks. Thank you." she cooed.

"Happy belated birthday." Cloud replied, smiling.

Yuffie pulled away again, testing her new weapon some more. Cloud shouldered his backpack, and started to make his way towards the Highwind along with the others.

On the outskirts of Cosmo Canyon, the rest of the group was busy loading the Highwind with various supplies. Nanaki had also requested to take some of his grandfather's scientific tools and laboratory equipment with him for the purpose of analysis, and the villagers were engaged in moving it into the airship via its rear loading platform. Cid had just helped Cloud get his motorcycle on board, and the two of them were heading back inside the ship with a heavy crate containing various scientific instruments, when Nanaki came rushing through the gates towards the two men.

"Cid, how long will it take for us to reach Ajit?" he asked, excited.

"I dunno. About three, three an' a half hours. Depends on how hard I drive this thing." Cid replied, jabbing his thumb roughly in the direction of his airship. "Why?"

"The light fluctuations have stopped." Nanaki explained quickly.

"You mean the light is gone?" Cloud asked.

"No.." Nanaki replied. "it's on _constantly_ now."

"The hell..?" Cid muttered.

"We'd better get a move on." Cloud said. The other two nodded, and the three of them hurried off towards the great airship as its engines revved up for the journey ahead..

* * *

**Author's notes:**

The last part of this chapter was sort of written in a hurry, so I guess some parts of it might have come out a little messy. I want to keep the plot moving, though, so I'm trying to press on. This is just the first stop of many. Stay tuned!


	4. Catch 33

_the scattered jigsaw of my redemption  
laid out before my eyes_

_each piece as amorphous as the other  
each piece in its lack of shape, a lie_

_the struggle to free myself from restraints_  
_becomes my very shackles_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 4  
Catch-33**

* * *

The new Highwind was truly something to behold. The original, once the flagship of Shinra's aerial armada, had taken immense damage during the last days of the Meteor Crisis, and Cid had been forced to scrap it, salvaging what could be saved. Building his new ship from the chassis of the old one, he had added a new, tougher outer layer of armor, replaced the ruined propeller blades with new, contra-rotating ones to preserve energy lost in the slipstream, and set up several emergency jets on reserve. The overall design of the ship had been streamlined for faster flight and more difficult maneuvering, as well as the ability to handle more extreme weather conditions. And of course the trademark Lady Luck bikini goddess had been spraypainted back on its port side, in an even more provocative pose than before. 

The inside of the ship was no less impressive. Cid had just finished giving Cloud an impromptu tour of his new pride and joy, showing off the various additions and improvements, including the new crew quarters, engine room, and storage facilities. In most ways, the inside of the new Highwind was pretty similar to the old one, but the interior space had been greatly revised, allowing for more storage space within a smaller area, as the ship itself had actually been compressed somewhat in size.

The two were headed back to the ship's bridge, crossing the walkway separating the main fuselage from the command deck. The ship felt somewhat empty, it's engines humming passively in the background. Aside from the Avalanche members, there was no-one else on board. Seeing as how he couldn't trust to call upon a readily available crew anymore, as he had done in his days with Shinra, Cid had taken care to automate and simplify as much of the ship's avionics as possible, installing a proper autopilot, essentially allowing him to pilot his new airship single-handedly.

Cid talked excitedly about the various changes and improvements he had made to his ship nearly the whole time, pausing only to drop some cigarette ash here and there. Cloud passively observed as the eager captain spoke passionately about his favorite subject, littering his numerous explanations and anecdotes with his inimitable brand of colourful dialogue. While they were talking, Cloud noticed that Cid wore the keys to the ship's strong-box, the one containing the ship's access controls, around his neck next to his dog tags from his days in the army.

"...and these are all-new, double-coated with a protective layer to keep them from getting fried in an emergency." Cid explained, knocking on one of the thick, exposed wires rising vertically from underneath the grating, as they reached the end of the walkway. "And if everything gets fucked, we can drop any unnecessary sections and convert the rest into a lightweight jet, like we did with the old one."

Cloud nodded. "I see.." he paused. "What about weapons systems?" he asked, as they came to a stop just outside the entrance to the bridge.

Cid turned towards him, grinning like a wolf. "I completely refitted _every--fucking-thing_. More machine gun rounds and missiles than we'll ever _need_." he stated proudly. "Hell, I reckon we could blow a WEAPON clear out of the sky with this baby."

Cloud couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. The captain seemed thrilled to simply be back in the air, whatever the reason might be for their journey. "Sounds good." he replied, nodding.

"You bet your ass it does." Cid replied boastfully, causing both of them to chuckle.

"Well, I'm going to have a better look around." Cloud said, turning to enter the main hold of the airship again.

"Yeah, go right ahead. We'll touch down in about... twenty minutes." Cid noted, checking his watch, before heading inside the bridge.

Yuffie sat huddled against the wall in one corner of the main fuselage, as usual, hugging her knees, and trying her best not to redecorate the floor with her stomach's contents. Cloud walked over, and sat down next to her on the cold, metallic floor. "You ok?" he asked.

"Never better." she replied wryly, looking pale and sickly as she always did during their airship rides. The young ninja girl leaned back out against the wall, then slumped awkwardly to the side, resting her head on her friend's shoulder.

Cloud turned to look at her. She seemed worse now than she usually did when they were travelling. Maybe he could try to take her mind off things for a little while by talking to her. He placed his hand on top of hers and gave it a slight squeeze. "It's really bad this time, huh?" he asked.

"Uh... uh-huh." Yuffie managed, closing her eyes. The two of them stayed that way for a while.

"So... how come you never get sick like this?" Yuffie asked, opening her eyes again, facing Cloud. "I thought you had motion sickness, too."

Cloud shook his head slightly. "I honestly don't know." he replied. He frowned momentarily, as he considered the possibilities. "Maybe it's a side effect of my... enhancements. Maybe it just wore off. I really have no idea." he mused, shrugging.

"Mmmm.." Yuffie acknowledged, contracting her body and bowing her head again, trying to choke down the bile.

"You know, it's supposed to help if you look out at the horizon." Cloud remarked. "I'm heading to the observation deck. Wanna come?"

Yuffie shook her head weakly. "Ugh... I'm not gonna make it.." she replied.

"Suit yourself." Cloud replied, standing up.

"Hey, do you have any t.." she started, hopefully. Cloud shook his head.

"Sorry."

"Drat." Yuffie replied wryly. "Oh well, didn't hurt to ask.."

Cloud paused, still worried about his companion. "We'll be landing in a few." he assured her. "Can you keep it together until then?"

"I'll try.." the young kunoichi replied, sighing, rocking back and forth in discomfort. Cloud gave her one last, concerned glance, before heading up the stairs towards the observation deck..

* * *

The cool air and quiet atmosphere out on the Highwind's observation deck was a welcome change from the heat and the pounding engine noise inside the ship. Cid was pushing the Highwind pretty hard, causing the ship's turbines to heat up faster and strain more than they usually would. 

As he stepped outside of the ship's main fuselage, Cloud noticed Tifa and Vincent at the far end of the deck, leaning on the railway, talking in low voices about something. As he stood near the entrance, the two of them noticed that someone else had entered the deck. Vincent raised himself up from the railings, whispering something to Tifa before heading back inside the ship, acknowledging the swordsman's presence with a curt nod as he passed.

Tifa stayed where she was, still leaning on the rails, looking out at the distant horizon. Cloud hesitated. Now that he thought about it, they hadn't actually spoken much since everyone had met up again yesterday. He wondered what she would have to say to him, if she would have anything to say at all. It had already been a year since he had left, almost without a word. He suddenly realized that there might not be a friendship between the two of them at all anymore, that he had created a gap between the two of them with his rash, impulsive actions..

He walked over, leaning on the railing beside her, pausing, not quite sure what to say. "So.." he began, uncertain of what her reaction would be, now that the two of them were alone.

"So..." Tifa mimicked. She remained quiet, gazing out at the horizon.

"It's been a while, huh?" Cloud continued, struggling to find the right words.

"Yeah, it has." Tifa replied simply, casting a sideward glance at him, waiting.

Guilt suddenly washed over him, at the painful realization that his worst fears might be true, that she hated him now. He reflected on the events that took place a year ago. He had left so suddenly, with hardly a word spoken, without stopping to think of the consequences... Cloud sighed mentally, and decided to simply get to the point. If things had really fallen apart between the two of them, it was better to bite the bullet and get it over with.

"Tif... I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when.." he started, painfully.

"No," she cut him off, standing up and raising her hand, speaking calmly. "..it's ok. Really."

There was an uncomfortable silence as he rose up to meet her calm gaze. Still, there didn't seem to be any resentment or anger in her voice..

"You just... needed to get away, right?" Tifa asked, breaking the silence. Cloud nodded, not saying anything.

"I think I know how that feels." Tifa said introspectively, casting her sight downwards. Then, suddenly, she pulled him into a tight hug. "It's good to see you again." she said, sincerely.

"You too." Cloud replied, amazed that she didn't harbor any animosity towards him, after what he'd done.

"I was worried, you know." Tifa said, breaking his thoughts. Cloud closed his eyes, returning the hug.

"I know." he replied simply. "Feel free to hit me if you like."

Tifa chuckled, still embracing her childhood friend. "Maybe some other time."

"Deal." Cloud agreed, chuckling as well. Opening his eyes again, he noticed that Tifa wasn't wearing her usual sparring gloves, and that something on her left hand was glinting in the sunlight. A ring.

"What's that?" he asked.

Tifa pulled away, blushing, suddenly seeming strangely coy, adjusting the small object on her ring finger. "It's, ah, an engagement ring." she explained, holding it up for him to see.

He smiled back at her. "I should have guessed." he said. "You and Vincent have been together for a while now, right?"

Tifa blinked, surprised. "You knew?"

"I'd heard." Cloud shrugged. "I just didn't know how serious you two were."

"Oh.." Tifa replied. "Um... you don't... _mind_, do you?" she asked, watching her friend carefully for any reaction.

"No, I'm really happy for you, Tifa." Cloud replied.

Tifa clasped her hands together, smiling. She could tell that he meant it. "Thank you, Cloud. It means a lot to me. It really does."

"He really does love you, doesn't he?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, he does.." Tifa answered.

"He better." Cloud replied. "Or I'll kick his ass."

Tifa laughed. "Still looking out for me, huh?"

Cloud laughed as well. "Always." he replied.

The two of them leaned back on the railing, side by side. Tifa turned to him again. "So... what about you?" she asked. "Any romantic exploits?"

Cloud shook his head, a solemn expression on his face as he looked out the horizon, and the endless ocean beneath them, rushing away. "I'm married to the road." he explained.

"Don't like to stay in any one place for too long?" Tifa asked.

"It.. keeps my mind off things." Cloud answered. Tifa nodded simply. Between their history together, not always a pleasant one, and the events one year ago, she knew that he had plenty of things that her childhood friend would want to keep his mind off.

"So where did you go?" Tifa asked, curious "You know, when you were travelling."

"Everywhere." Cloud replied simply. "Everywhere that I could. I went south to begin with, not really heading anywhere in particular. Then I just drifted east, I guess."

Tifa nodded, listening intently, waiting for him to continue.

"I climbed mountains, cut my way through forests, pieced together a new motorcycle." Cloud continued. "Drove across countless highways.." he paused, frowning. "I even raided some old Shinra outposts. Mako reactors, labs.. you know." he went on. "At one point, I even explored the old Shinra headquarters in Midgar."

"But... they're just ruins now, right?" Tifa asked. "Nobody goes near them anymore."

Cloud nodded, looking out into the distance. "Yeah.."

_He thought of the hours spent alone in the dust and darkness of the crumbling Shinra building. Some floors had been so badly damaged that they had been reduced to nothing more than pieces of jagged metal, sticking out at odd angles like sharp spikes, waiting to impale and skewer anyone unfortunate enough to take a wrong step. The once-magnificent skyscraper could barely hold itself together. Some floors seemed ready to collapse at any moment. And some did, as he made his way through the decaying building, almost crushing him in the process as they fell away, crashing to the bottom, echoing somewhere in the distance as they collided with the remains of other floors along the way..._

After hours spent exploring the damp, dark basements of the ghostly ruins, he'd finally found what he was looking for. Cloud reached into his sweater and pulled out two small, rectangular pieces of metal from under it, worn around his neck by a thin chain.

"I found these." he said.

Tifa instantly recognized the objects as military identification tags, ones belonging to the Shinra army.

"Dogtags?" she asked, puzzled. Cloud nodded. Tifa leaned in closer to examine them better. Usually each soldier was issued two clips of the same tag, in case one of them was lost, but the ones Cloud was carrying had two different names engraved on them. One was his own.

The other was that of his friend, Zack Kenshi..

"After the incident at the Nibelheim reactor, Zack and I were officially declared dead." Cloud explained. "When the heat died down, all our service records were quietly erased. They hid these away, and we were kept as test subjects." he clenched his hand into a fist around the two tags. "They effectively denied our existence. No-one else knew.."

"I..." Tifa tried to come up with something to say, but nothing she could think of seemed to be enough. She realized now just how important these small, seemingly insignificant metallic objects were to her childhood friend. It was proof of his existence, and that of his lost 'brother'. She placed her arm on his shoulder, offering an empathic look. "I'm sorry... I wish there was something I could have.."

Cloud shook his head, sighing. "It's ok. It's in the past now." he tucked the dog-tags back inside his sweater.

Their conversation was heading in an unpleasant direction, so Tifa decided to change the subject. Pausing for a moment, she made up her mind to prod her friend regarding something that she had been wondering about since last night..

"Say... you haven't been lying to me, by any chance, have you?" Tifa asked pointedly, setting the trap.

"About what?" Cloud replied. Tifa could tell that he had tensed up slightly. He was ready to take the bait.

"You know. About what you said earlier. Your... 'celibacy'."

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked, puzzled.

_"Hook, line and sinker."_ Tifa thought, grinning inwardly. She decided to wait for him to catch on.

Cloud realized what she was getting at. "You mean, me and..?" he asked, gesturing towards himself, followed by the inside of the ship. Tifa nodded and smiled knowingly.

"Mmhmmm.." Tifa replied suggestively.

"Oh... no, it's nothing like that." he explained. "We just met on the way."

"Oh?" Tifa replied, tilting one eyebrow. "You two looked awfully friendly back there in the Canyon." she noted with a playful expression, enjoying her new game. Cloud couldn't help but be amused by her pretending-to-be-jealous behaviour, either.

"It was her birthday." he explained ambiguously.

"I... see." Tifa replied, with a bemused expression on her face. "You always show up at people's birthdays five months late?" she asked, acting as if she were still not _quite_ convinced.

"Better late than never, right?" Cloud asked. Tifa chuckled.

"Right."

She stood up and stretched lazily. "Well, I'm gonna head back inside. You coming?" she asked, gesturing towards the open doorway.

"Be there in a few." Cloud replied. Tifa nodded, leaving her friend with his thoughts.

Cloud breathed a sigh of relief, leaning out over the railings. Watching the ground rushing by underneath, he thought about the conversation he had just had. It was an immense relief to him that after all was said and done, he and Tifa were still on good terms. It was one less worry on his mind, and a great one at that..

He fished the worn dogtags out from under his sweater again, examining them in detail. Punched into the thin metal plates were the names, ranks, serial numbers and regiments of one Cloud Strife and one Zack Kenshi.

Cloud stared at the tags wistfully. All his life, he had looked up to someone else, wanted to _be_ someone else. Lived in someone else's shadow. Only now, he was truly beginning to accept himself for who he was, and trying to forge out his own identity. Even so, he wasn't sure how much of him was _truly_ himself. Through the various personality traits that he had assumed from others, voluntarily or otherwise, much of himself had no doubt been lost in the process.

And there were still the voices, and the visions. They were not nearly as strong as they had been when Sephiroth and Jenova were alive, but they were still there, surfacing on occasion, like echoes from the past..

_"A schizo is never alone.."_ he thought wryly to himself.

The ocean gave way to land. A short strip of seashore shot by underneath the great airship, followed by forests and plains. Cloud turned around, looking over the starboard side of the deck. In the distance, the amber structures of Ajit, the lost city of the Ancients began to appear, surrounded on all sides by the tall mountains. Further to the north would be the snowfields, and the Northern Crater, where it had all begun.

Where it had all ended..

The full weight, the incredible irony of the whole situation suddenly struck him, something he had never really pondered much before. When that single, gigantic meteorite had crashed into the earth, two thousand years ago, the entire future of the planet and its inhabitants had been written. That single, cataclysmic event had shaped everything that was to come for the next two millenia. History was already decided, from the downfall of the Cetra, to the inevitable destruction of Jenova.

_"Everyone's fate is already decided."_

Cloud closed his fist around the worn dogtags again, shutting his eyes as the painful memories began to well up. The two names that were always on his mind..

_"Zack... Aerith.."_

It was their fate... their _destiny_ to die, so that he and his friends might live, decided even before their birth. Not a day went by that he didn't wish it could have been different..

"What is our destiny?" he asked no-one in particular, clutching the tags, eyes still closed.

The Highwind was now nearing the ancient ruins. Opening his eyes again, Cloud could just barely make out the edges of the Northern Crater, peeking over the edges of the distant mountains. The gaping maw that was the northern crater. The rotting, festering wound of the planet, left by an unwelcome visitor. One that was affecting everyone's lives, even now. Cloud thought about his "enhancements", how Jenova still lived inside of him. As far as he knew, all the others who had possessed this "gift" were dead, driven to the suicidal journey that was the Reunion.

It was just as well that he was the last one carrying these cursed cells, he thought. Certainly, they gave him tremendous strength, as well as the ability to recover from wounds and injuries at an impossible rate, but they were in no way altruistic towards their host. It was in the Jenova cells' best interest to keep their host alive, and he could feel that they wanted something in return...

Control.

If he had been administered with a larger dose of the Jenova cells than he had, he would almost certainly have had no control over them. The thought chilled him to the bone. Not being able to control one's own body, one's own actions. And that was something that he had experienced, if only briefly. Something that he hoped would never happen to him again. He feared, however, that it would be possible, since the cells were now an inextricable part of his body, and would remain so until the day he died.

The light of the mid-day sun overhead refracted from the coral-like structures that littered Ajit, casting an ethereal glow over the ancient city as it came into full view. It was a magnificent sight, and yet somehow... ominous. The sight instilled a feeling of trepidation in the blond swordsman.

_"A holy place.." _Cloud thought. _"..and we're trespassing."_ He couldn't tell why, but he had a bad feeling about the whole situation. Something simply felt wrong..

Cid's gruff voice came over the ship's intercom. "All right, numbskulls, listen up! This is your captain speaking. We're about to put down. Please put on your non-existent seatbelts, and be advised that the 'no smoking' sign has been lit."

* * *

The captain of the Highwind was certainly not joking about the last part of his statement. He had just finished lighting up a 'no smoking' flyer with his newly lit cigarette, before tossing the burning piece of paper out of a nearby porthole. He took a deep drag from his cigarette and grinned with satisfaction at his little pre-landing routine. 

The Highwind descended over the tall hills overlooking the city of Ajit from the west. Cid carefully steadied the ship, then released the mooring line.

"Man, can't you get us any closer?" Barret asked. "You telling me we're gonna have to walk all the way through that damn jungle?"

"No, I can't, and yes we are." Cid stated irritably. "The canyon down there is too fuckin' narrow. I'll anchor the ship here."

Cloud and the others gathered inside the control room. "Everyone ready?" he asked. The others either nodded or made various grunts and sounds of agreement as they readied their backpacks and weapons.

"All right, let's get going." Cloud said. "Essentials only. We can come back for the scientific equipment later."

Cid locked the ship's console, leaving the airship to hover over the jungle, then secured the keys to the avionics and engine room in the strongbox situated underneath the control console at the head of the bridge. He then hung the keys to the strongbox around his neck again, joining the others. The group quickly headed up towards the observation deck, then climbed down one by one down the rope ladder. Having lost a quick set of rock-paper-scissors, it was the airship captain's turn to carry Nanaki down the ladder, tied to a harness.

"This is so undignified." Nanaki complained sullenly as they descended.

"Shut your yap." Cid replied. "You're not the one with the bad back."

Reeve reached the ground last, just after Cid and Nanaki. "So, what's the plan, exactly?" he asked. The others turned to the group's leader.

"We don't know exactly where the light flashes are coming from," Cloud explained, crossing his arms. "other than it's somewhere on the lower levels. So we'll have to get through the jungle, hit the lower levels of the city, and see what we find."

"Sounds like a plan." Cid replied, shouldering his spear. "Let's go."

The others nodded in agreement. The group began to make its way east, towards the edge of the cliff. The thick, tropical jungle did little to protect them from the harsh afternoon sun. It was early april, and the hottest summer the world had seen in several decades. To say that it was hot did not even begin to describe the sweltering heat that met them now that they were on the ground. The soggy, muddy ground beneath their feet didn't help matters much either, as they trudged onwards through the jungle.

"Man, it's hot." Barret said, wiping his forehead.

"Oh really?" Yuffie remarked sarcastically. "We hadn't noticed."

"Man, shu'up." Barret replied, waving his gun-arm in the young ninja's direction.

Cid sighed. "I feel like I just walked into a fucking boiler."

"You think _you_ have it bad?" Nanaki asked.

Reeve, Cloud, Vincent and Tifa, for the most part endured the scorching heat without comment, although they found themselves swatting at the various bugs and flies pestering them along the way, much as any of the others. The group slowly and carefully began to make its way down the slope leading to the main part of the forest below, weighed down by the heat and humidity. Some of them slipped occasionally on the nearly tractionless ground as they moved downwards.

As they reached the base of the cliffs, the Sleeping Forest's trees provided some small amount of shade, but it was not enough to shield anyone from the merciless sun above. However, they now had a path to follow. One that would lead them straight into the lost city. The humidity had subsided slightly, as the air now became dry, although none less torrid.

"Why do _we_ have to do this, anyway?" Yuffie asked, tired and irritated. "Why can't someone _else_ take care of the world for a change?"

"It's our destiny." Reeve replied drily. Yuffie snorted at this, but said nothing else.

"What do you think we'll find down there?" Tifa asked, taking a small bottle of water out from her backpack.

"I don't know, but..." Nanaki began.

"...whatever it is, it can't be good." Vincent finished for him. Nanaki looked over at the stoic gunman.

"That _is_ what you were thinking, is it not?" Vincent asked, not waiting for his four-legged companion to respond.

"Mmmm.." Nanaki half-growled in reluctant agreement. Cloud listened to their conversation without any comment. Somehow he knew that their prediction was all too likely to be true..

Finally, they were at the end of the forest, and now the familiar sight of the steps leading down into Ajit's ruins came into view. The dry heat was taking its toll on the group, and by the time they had exited the Sleeping Forest, most of them were parched and sweating profusely, despite the fact that they were carrying only their backpacks and weapons.

They walked to the edge of the bluff above the city. In the full light of the mid-day sun, the view was nothing short of breathtaking. The empty buildings, stretching on for miles, were a marvel of architecture by any measure. One could almost imagine the life that must have once filled the city. But now, something felt different about the place. Almost as if it were waiting for them..

They all shared glances, looks of uncertainty or hesitation, before finally heading down the steps.

_"Our destiny..."_ Cloud thought, leading the group downwards. _"...is, and will always be, inescapable."_

* * *

**Author's notes:**

Sorry guys, it's been longer than I intended since I last updated this story. Because of that, I decided to split up the chapter that I was writing (the longest one I've done so far) into two smaller ones, otherwise it would have taken me even longer to get it out. **But** that also means that the next update shouldn't be far off.

T his chapter turned out to be rather introverted, possibly a bit more so than I intended, but I had to make sure that I didn't leave out any important details. It's important to clarify certain characters' relationships and states of mind before the story can proceed. The next chapter is going to be... shall we say, the complete opposite.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned!


	5. At The Gates

_abandon the safety  
of mindless following,  
abandon what holds us  
captive to suffering_

_pierce the blinders  
behold the path  
that leads before you_

_let us forsake  
all the things  
that lead us to our demise_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 5  
At The Gates**

* * *

The small group of people slowly made its way down the chiseled steps leading to the center of the Lost City. They had all travelled through the once mighty city of Ajit more than once, and yet it never failed to instill a kind of quiet awe in each of them. The tall structures loomed ominously over them, surrounding them on all sides, like sentinels guarding holy grounds from trespassers who might seek to desecrate this place. It gave everyone an uneasy feeling, marching through the once living city, now abandoned, the echoes of their footsteps the only sound that could be heard.. 

As the path before them began to branch out, Nanaki took the lead and began to move down the western path, away from the city's center.

"Where are we going, exactly?" Tifa asked.

"Remember the projector?" Nanaki asked, pacing onwards. "The one made out of water?"

"Yeah... and that crazy music box thing." Barret replied.

"Quite." Nanaki answered. "There should be steps there nearby, leading into the lower parts of the city." Nanaki explained. "It seems that the source of those strange "lights" lies somewhere further down there."

"Who'd want to live in a place like this, anyway?" Yuffie asked no-one in particular, as they passed by another coral structure. The young kunoichi surveyed the peculiar buildings around her. For some reason the sight, coupled with the dead quiet surrounding them all gave her the chills..

"People who were, in many ways, more advanced than you and I." Nanaki explained, marching on.

The group walked past the platform around which the waterfall projector had been cast once, taking the steps leading further down into the city.

"The lights we saw should be coming from somewhere down here." Nanaki explained as they rounded another corner. The coral walkways above the group cast long shadows here and there on the ground, and they were grateful to finally have a bit of shelter from the merciless sun overhead.

"Can we stop for a second?" Yuffie asked, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Guys?"

Cloud paused, and the others did the same. "All right." he said, removing his backpack and laying it up against one of the surrounding walls, sitting down in the shade. "We'll take a short break."

There were no complaints from the rest of the group. After their grueling trek through the forest, they were glad to have a short rest. So far, this whole trip hadn't yielded any results, either, and they were all getting somewhat tired. They sat there for a few moments, drinking in the cooling shade, making good use of their water bottles, either sipping from them or pouring the water over their heads.

"Wait, could it be.." Nanaki mumbled, getting up, sniffing casually at the air.

"What is it?" Cloud asked. He got up, and followed the red-maned creature. The others stood up and went in tow around the corner.

Suddenly, they all came to a stop. They had found the source of their mysterious lights. A semi-circular coral archway, raised up from the ground, pulsating with raw energy, formed from what was unmistakably lifestream essence. The archway was something they had passed several times before, never quite noticing its presence. To them, it had just been another strange and eerie structure amongst the countless ones to be found in the lost city.

Tifa looked to her left, and saw that the leader of their group suddenly looked uneasy, agitated...

"Cloud? What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"Something's coming.." Cloud replied tersely, eyes focused on the radiating gateway.

They were still some distance from the archway, making it hard to see into the energy field that was emanating from its centre, but indeed something was coming through the gates. The Avalanche members tensed up as they saw four humanoid figures emerging from the blinding light.

Even with a good distance still between themselves and the unknown figures, they could make out certain details about their visitors. The feature that struck them as most foreboding about these beings was that nearly half of their bodies seemed to be covered in some sort of biomodifications... grafted into their skin.

And there was another fact that escaped none of them. Something more disturbing..

All of their strange new visitors were bruised and bleeding badly, scarred from some unseen battle. One of the figures fell to its knees, seemingly exhausted, while another collapsed entirely. Two more figures emerged from the gate, joining the others. One of the earlier arrivals called out to them in a strained voice, muted by the breathing mask grafted into its face, in a language they could not recognize.

Since their visitors did not appear to be hostile, the group continued to advance towards the gate. They were still some distance away from their visitors, when they started to notice something _else_ coming through the gate. Something definitely not human...

The Avalanche members halted again, apprehensive, as several animal-like beings began to emerge from the gate. They didn't recognize them as any species they knew, but their form was unmistakable, that of the archetypal four-legged predator. The creatures were large, ferocious, with dagger-shaped tails and no shortage of sharp claws and teeth. Their skins were black and oily in appearance, their hide looking as if it were somehow slowly dripping off from their bodies.

The humanoid beings recoiled in fear as the menacing creatures made their way out of the energy swell. Before any of the Avalanche members could act, the monsters began a frenzied attack, razing the helpless derelicts, slaughtering them before they had a chance to get away. The Avalanche members watched, mortified, as the beasts tore into their defenseless prey, tearing them apart with terrifying ease. In mere seconds, all the people who had come through the gate lay dead, their tattered bodies slumping to the ground, lifeless.

The Avalanche members just stood there, horrified, with no idea of what had just transpired. The beasts stood over their felled prey, some still tearing the exposed skin off their victim's bodies with their sharp jaws, while others wandered around idly. There were at least twelve of them now gathered in a pack, with more coming through the gates. They began to turn their attention towards the newly arrived group.

There was no confusion as to their intentions..

Cloud gripped his sword, turning to the others who were all scrambling for their weapons. "Vincent, Barret! High ground!" he ordered, assuming the role of battle co-ordinator. "Reeve, stay behind Vincent and keep your head down. Cid, Tifa. You take the left flank." He turned to the remaining two members of the group. "Yuffie, Red. You take the right one."

The others instinctively knew what Cloud's plan was. Splitting themselves up meant that their enemies would have to split up as well, making them easier to fight. The two gunmen broke off from the rest of the group, Vincent taking left and Barret right, clambering up the nearby bluffs to take advantage of the greater height.

"What about you!" Tifa asked.

"I'll take the middle." Cloud replied, unsheathing his sword.

The monsters began to approach, claws out and fangs bared, charging towards their new prey in a bloodthirsty frenzy. The Avalanche members quickly spread out left and right to divide the rapidly approaching enemy. Vincent climbed up the left cliff side with Reeve in tow, while Barret wheeled himself up the other side, positioning himself to fire at the gateway, where several more monsters had begun to emerge.

Cloud entered his battle stance, bracing himself as the first of the monsters reached him, leaping up to attack. Cloud brought his sword up in an uppercut swing as the large beast jumped at him, slicing through the monster's exposed underbelly, gutting it neatly. The animal's body slumped awkwardly to the ground with a heavy thud, splashing dark red blood on the dusty ground as it landed.

Cloud felt the blow reverberating through his weapon and down his torso. The aggressing animals were heavier than he had anticipated, and their hides were tough, oily, difficult to cut through. Without pausing, he swung his sword around in a half-circle, narrowly catching another monster with the edge of his sword as it charged at him. The force of the blow knocked the monster off its feet and to the side, splitting its face open.

A third one jumped at Cloud, lashing out, tearing some flesh away from his right arm as he spun around to defend himself. The blow forced him to the ground, and he rolled away just in time to escape another beast's attack. He quickly brought himself to his feet again, taking a defensive stance. A small crowd of monsters had begun to gather around the blond swordsman, circling him warily, snarling menacingly at their prey... waiting for an opening. Now that the monsters were up close, he could see that their skin was actually peeling away, as if they were heavily diseased..

He could tell that they were being more careful, now that their prey had begun to fight back. The creatures slowly surrounded their target, assessing this new threat. Cloud used the opportunity to quickly look around, taking in the battle around him.

The fight was happening so fast that none of the other Avalanche members had had a chance to think about, much less _use_ their materia. On his left, Cid had his hands full with two of the beasts, alternately spinning his spear to keep them at bay, or swinging down and stabbing away whenever the monsters got within range.

Tifa had just barely missed a third one with an aerial scissor kick, landing hard on the ground. The two of them were interlocked in a battle of thrust and parry, with the monster alternately attacking and retreating as the young martial artist let loose with various kicks and punches. She broke into a run, then leapt up, pacing several steps on the side of the cliff wall before jumping off again, deploying the kinetic energy gained from her wall run into a devastating roundhouse kick, neatly cracking the animal's skull.

She paused for a second, glancing towards her childhood friend. He was surrounded on all sides by the attacking beasts, picking them off one by one as they attacked, sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs. She noticed that, for some reason, the beasts seemed to be especially agitated around him..

On the right side of the battlefield, Yuffie and Nanaki were busy with several of the predators. The young kunoichi vaulted into a backflip, catching one of the monsters on its snout with her right leg as she spun backwards, disorienting the large animal. Turning, she ran towards another of the beasts and, still moving, threw her shuriken back at the one pursuing her. Then just as quickly, she took a stair-stepping jump from the second one's head, catching her shuriken again in mid-air, curling into a roll as she landed. The shuriken had connected with the first of the beasts, killing it instantly, and the other was left confused and angered by her attack.

Nanaki tangled with one of the monsters, but their similar physical build made it difficult for them to fight each other, so they clawed away at each other, tumbling on the ground, interlocked, before separating again. The two snarled at each other, before launching into another attack.

Vincent knelt down on the left cliffside, sniping several of the creatures near the gate with his trusty rifle, but much to his chagrin his bullets did not seem to be doing them much harm. He tried going for the beasts' heads, but all the confusion of the fighting made it difficult to hit them, and he knew that even with his best aiming he ran the risk of hitting his allies..

Over on the right cliff, Barret was having the same problem with hitting the enemy without accidentally targeting his allies, and dealt with a less accurate and more volatile weapon, the best he could do was provide covering fire, trying his best not to hit the others.

The monsters, however, were starting to figure out where the gunfire was coming from, and they didn't like it one bit. Both gunmen noticed that several of the monsters emerging through the gates were finding their way up each cliff..

Reeve, standing on the middle of the cliff that he and Vincent were defending, noticed two of the beasts clambering up the _south_ side of the cliff, behind him and Vincent. Vincent was busy fending off multiple attackers approaching from the front, so Reeve did the first thing that came to mind. He knelt down, picking up a decent-sized rock and threw it at one of the advancing monsters.

The rock hit the beast squarely in its face. Reeve quickly decided that this hadn't been such a good idea, as the already angry beast became furious, frothing at the mouth.

"Uh.." Reeve stammered, frozen, as the beast began to advance towards him. It broke into a run, and Reeve braced himself for the inevitable impact of its attack.

"Get back."

Vincent pushed the former Shinra exec out of the way just in time to catch the beast in mid-air with a blast from his rifle. The gunman dodged, as the dead animal's carcass slumped to the ground. The other beast charged him, while more beasts began to claw their way up the north side of the cliff. The stoic gunman hastily drew a second firearm, a small pistol, and began to fire indiscriminately in both directions at once.

The monsters' numbers were dwindling, and the flow of enemies coming through the gates seemed to have stopped, but the ones that remained fought with every inch of their lives. One of the monsters had Cid pinned to the ground, its jaws inches away from Cid's face, frantically biting away as he held it off with his spear. The aging pilot groaned, feeling the weight of the beast on top of him. He was getting pissed..

Cid let the monster a little bit closer, letting go of the spear with his right hand. "Get... _off_... me, you stupid fuck!" he shouted irritably, punctuating his words with a row of punches to the massive beast's face, before giving it a hard kick in its midsection, pushing the animal from off him. He rolled away from the stunned predator, getting back to his feet.

"Damn, your breath stinks.." he muttered, brandishing his spear and preparing to fend off any other attackers.

Meanwhile, Barret was struggling to keep the monsters at bay, trying to shake one off, which had lodged its teeth into his gun-arm. He grimaced, revving his minigun up to fire, but nothing came out. He nearly panicked, realizing that not only was he out of ammo, but his gun-arm was now jammed as well. The beast sunk its teeth deeper into Barret's hybrid arm, refusing to let go. Other monsters began to circle around the large man, as he struggled to get free from his attacker.

Suddenly, the back of the monster's head exploded, as a neatly aimed projectile coming from the other side of the battlefield struck its temple. The force of the projectile ripped the now dead creature's body free from Barret's immediately. Barret looked to the other bluff to see Vincent in the distance, brandishing his rifle. He quickly waved a small 'thank you' to the other gunman, before returning his attention to the advancing predators making their way up his side of the arena.

Vincent turned his attention to the north side of the bluff that he was defending, having left Reeve once of his pistols. The former Shinra exec seemed to be holding up his end of the defense quite well. He quickly sniped a couple of monsters nearing Cid and Tifa, before discarding the depleted weapon in favor of small arms.

Yuffie was caught near the archway, and was busy fending off several of the beasts all by herself. Two of the beasts were attacking her, while a third one circled them, closing off any possible escape routes. The young kunoichi kept the two attackers at bay with a combination of martial arts moves, dodges and shuriken throws and slashes, but the fight between the three of them had turned into a stalemate. She was stuck.

Cloud spun around again, just in time to defend himself from another attack. He was wearing a half-grimace, half-smile on his face. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, part of him enjoyed the fighting immensely. The pain and the exertion were almost comfortable to him, as was the bloodshed, and even the taking of life. Some base part of his psyche reveled in the pure simplicity of the act. Kill or be killed. It was one of the few things he could claim to be truly good at..

Batting away one of the predators attacking him with a loose sword stroke, Cloud saw that the young ninja was having trouble controlling her side of the fight. Then he saw something else.. One of the monsters attempting to climb up the hill that Vincent and Reeve were defending had taken a shot, falling down next to the other beasts' carcasses, throwing up some yellowed dust as it crashed into the ground. The confused beast raised itself to its feet, shaking its head, and eyed a new target..

Cloud's adrenaline level went into overdrive as he watched the beast begin to head towards the young kunoichi. He knew that she was already too busy fending off the other three to see the fourth one coming, and even if she did, she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. So he did the only thing that he could..

He ran.

The raging beast raced towards its newly chosen prey, salivating and baring its fangs. Cloud ran as fast as he could, ignoring the last few monsters attacking him, praying that he would reach the girl first. The world seemed to slow down around him, as the adrenaline in his body took maximum effect.

He was mere steps away..

But it was too late. The predator had reached her first. Spinning around, slashing away at one of her attackers with the underside of her shuriken, Yuffie noticed her blond friend running towards her, eyeing something else. She turned, and saw the immense beast leaping up towards her. The young ninja froze, eyes wide. In that split-second, she knew that she wouldn't be able to dodge in time, that this would be the last thing she would ever see..

She braced herself for the end, closing her eyes.

But then, something else hit her _first_. The young ninja instinctively realized what had happened. Cloud had jumped up, almost horizontally, just in time to push both of them out of the way..

...and into the gate.

* * *

For a short moment, they could feel nothing. It was as if the world around them no longer existed..

And then they hit the ground, hard. The two of them lay on the cold, dusty ground in an awkward tangle of limbs, with Cloud on top and Yuffie underneath. Normally, the young ninja would have been embarrassed or angry at being caught in such a position, but given the current circumstances, coupled with the fact that her friend had almost certainly saved her life, she didn't mind, or even much notice.

Their eyes were still closed, as a natural reaction from the fall, but they could no longer hear the sound of battle. There were no signs of any monsters, or of their friends' presence. Instead, they were now met with deafening silence..

The air was cold, forbidding. As they began to untangle themselves, their eyes locked on each others' for a brief moment. Cloud gazed at the young ninja girl, and she at him, almost as if they were looking at each other... _seeing_ each other for the first time. Blond locks of hair mingled with raven ones, as they took in each other's features, their bodies still pressed closely together..

Finally, Cloud self-consciously forced himself to break eye contact with his friend, raising himself up from the ground. "You ok?" he asked, offering his hand.

"Yeah.." Yuffie replied, breathless, as he pulled the young kunoichi up to her feet. The two of them dusted themselves off as they quietly took in as they took in their new surroundings. The gate was still there, not far from where they had landed. At least, one _identical_ to the gate they had just entered through.

it was dark, night-time. A fine, misty rain fell as black clouds loomed overhead, casting a dark-blue filter of light over everything, making it hard to see. They were situated in what appeared to be a town square, in the midst of a crumbling city which bore an unmistakable resemblance to the lost city of Ajit. But unlike the ruins that they had left, these showed signs of having been violently razed a long time ago. Everything was destroyed, damaged... dead.

There were no signs of life to be seen anywhere, and yet, they had the inescapable feeling that something was watching them. They could not see any end to the nightmarish landscape. The decaying buildings seemingly went on forever. They felt surrounded, walled in by the cold and quiet..

Breathless and overwhelmed by the vast, terrible sight, the young ninja girl finally managed to utter. "Where are we?"

Her words echoed in the freezing night air, the deafening silence surrounding the two, the only answer..

* * *

**Author's notes:**

No real notes this time, just a short notice. Now, I'm not really sure if I'm going to continue with this story, or with writing altogether. But if you guys want me to go on with it, I will. Also, I have one question: If I _do_ continue with the story, do you think that I should write shorter chapters, and update more often, or write longer chapters and update somewhat sporadically?

Well, that's that for now. Feedback much appreciated. Later.


	6. Revelations

_I woke up  
and I had a big idea  
To buy a new soul  
at the start of every year_

_I paid up  
and it cost me pretty dear  
Here's a hymn  
to those that disappear_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 6  
Revelations**

* * *

"It's not working." 

Two figures sat next to each other on what had most likely once been a fountain in the city's central square. Yuffie held her arm stretched out as Cloud tried to cure the wounds she had taken from the battle earlier using the small, green orb in his hand.

After spending a tense couple of minutes waiting to see if someone, or some_thing_ would follow them through the gate, they had decided it was best to tend to their wounds and rest while they could. Their clothes were starting to get soaked from the light rain, and they had also received a number of cuts and bruises from their rough landing. All in all, they were both cold, tired, and getting hungry as well..

Cloud had spent the last minute or so trying to get his curative materia to work, but nothing was happening. No matter how much he concentrated on the crystalline orb in his hands, it wouldn't react. He frowned, shaking his head.

"Let me try." the young kunoichi said.

"I'm fine." Cloud replied, getting up.

"No, you're not." Yuffie answered, pointing at Cloud's arm, which was shedding a fair amount of blood from where he had been grazed earlier.

"It's nothing." Cloud insisted. He was used to letting the Jenova cells in his body take care of such things, so he tried to brush off Yuffie's offer. But the stubborn girl ninja wouldn't have any of it.

"Shut up." Yuffie said firmly, standing up, drawing herself to her full height and pushing her friend back down onto the fountain's edge. "Sit down and let me take a look."

Cloud didn't bother to argue. He knew that when Yuffie's mind was set on something, nothing would change it, short of a miracle.

The young ninja grimaced, examining the wound. "Geez, you're bleeding pretty bad." she said, peering at the three gashes running down her friend's arm. The cuts looked pretty bad, alright. The monsters they had been fighting only moments ago had been quite heavy-set, and while they hadn't gotten in too many hits, they sure as hell _felt_ it when they did.

Cloud handed over his materia, and the young ninja began to concentrate on it, as she and the others had all learned to do a long time ago. The use of materia was fairly common knowledge, and could be learned by almost anyone. But again, nothing would happen. The orb in her hands simply refused to work or react in any way. She sighed, frustrated.

"Stupid materia!" the young ninja shouted irritably, throwing the small sphere to the ground. She sank down on the fountain next to her friend, resting her head in her hands.

"What do we do now?" she asked, turning to Cloud.

"We'll have to try and get back." Cloud answered, getting up and picking up his materia from the lightly soaked ground.

Yuffie hesitated. "But... how do you know that thing will even take us back?" she asked, gesturing towards the gate, some distance away. Cloud paused. She had a good point. Maybe the monsters or their friends had followed them into the gate, and ended up somewhere else, in a completely different place..

He sat down next to the ninja girl again, thinking. He considered the possibility of exploring the ruins that they were now faced with. Many of the buildings had been crushed into dust long ago, and the rest didn't look as though they could hold themselves together for much longer. Visibility was poor due to the weather, as well as the fact that it was the middle of the night. And he was unarmed, as well. When he had jumped up to save Yuffie earlier, he'd dropped his sword on the other side of the gate, leaving him with just the knife concealed inside his sleeve. All in all, wandering around by themselves in their current state, with no supplies and hardly any equipment was a _bad_ idea..

_"It's too dangerous.." _he thought.

"We don't have any other choice." he said finally, breaking the silence.

Yuffie thought about this for a moment, then got up again, sighing. "I guess you're right."

The two of them walked up to the still-active gate, the swirling mass of energy concentrated in its centre the only sign of life in the vicinity. They stood there for a moment, still not certain of whether this was such a good idea, either.. What if it _did_ take them someplace else? Someplace _worse_?

What if they didn't survive the trip?

Cloud looked over to Yuffie. "You ready?" he asked.

She nodded, tensing up, holding her breath. As they began to walk inside the energy mass, she reached out and gripped his hand tightly. Cloud squeezed her hand reassuringly, as they took the final steps..

_"Here goes nothing.."_

* * *

Again, they felt that sense of weightlessness for a brief moment. For a few seconds, there was absolute brightness, abruptly followed by near total darkness. The faint feeling of warmth was suddenly replaced by a cold gust of wind, sweeping lazily across their bodies. They both felt disoriented, as if they had just stepped off a speeding train and onto the ground.. 

There was a flickering light in the distance. It took them a short while to realize what it was, as their eyes were still adjusting to the ambient light. A campfire. A small campfire was burning not far away from where they stood..

"They...they're back!" a voice sounded in the darkness. Cloud and Yuffie could hear someone approach them. They both tensed up briefly until they realized, much to their relief, that it was their friends, and not someone else. They were back in the Ajit ruins.

Tifa, Vincent, Barret and Nanaki walked up to the gates to meet them. "Are you guys okay?" Tifa asked, checking up on her friends.

"Yeah, we're fine." Cloud answered. He noticed that there was no sign of the monsters anywhere, or of their other visitors. "What happened?" he asked.

"Well.." Tifa began.

"There have been some interesting developments while you've been gone." Nanaki's deep rumbling voice came, as the four-legged beast sauntered up to the group gathered around the archway.

"Wha-? How long have we been gone?" Yuffie asked, puzzled.

"About 7 hours." Tifa replied. "We were starting to think the worst.."

"Seven _hours_?" Cloud and Yuffie asked, almost simultaneously.

"Indeed." Nanaki replied. "Which is a remarkably fast time for interstellar travel, I might add."

"Inter-what?" Yuffie asked. "What are you talking about?"

She and Cloud looked at each other. The journey from Ajit to the other side and back had felt like mere seconds to them..

"Come. I'll explain on the way back to the Highwind." Nanaki said, motioning for the others to follow him.

* * *

"My apologies. It was my decision that we shouldn't follow you into the gate." Nanaki explained, as the group trailed the path through the Sleeping Forest. "Tifa and the others wanted to rush right in, but I convinced them to wait." 

Cloud nodded. "I understand." he looked over at the four-legged beast. "Those masks they were wearing, right?"

"Yes." Nanaki replied. "I couldn't risk getting everyone else killed as well, if the atmosphere on the other side were somehow lethal."

"So we set up camp and decided to wait to see if you'd come back." Tifa explained.

"Mmmm.." Nanaki growled in acknowledgement.

"You said that we were gone for seven hours, right?" Cloud asked.

"Yes, seven hours, meaning approximately three and a half for each trip through the gate." Nanaki answered. "How long did you stay?" he asked.

"Just a few minutes. Can't be more than 20 at most." Cloud replied.

"Hmm.." Nanaki grumbled again, thinking. "What happened when you entered the gate? You were taken somewhere else? Someplace unfamiliar?"

Cloud frowned slightly. "Unfamiliar" was quite the understatement. _And yet.._

"Yeah." he replied curtly, reserving his thoughts on the matter for the moment.

"I see."

"You mentioned interstellar travel, earlier. How do you know.." Cloud began.

"While you were gone, we've been examining the bodies left from the fight." Nanaki explained. "We brought them on board the ship while we were waiting to see if you would return. And we've come across some rather... interesting results."

"What?" Yuffie asked.

"I think it's best if you see for yourselves."

The group reached the moored Highwind, heading up the rope ladder. Cloud picked up Nanaki's harness, and began to tie it to the red-maned beast.

Nanaki sighed.

* * *

The bodies had been laid out side by side on the floor in the Highwind's dimly lit cargo hold, draped over with simple pieces of white cloth, essentially turning the room into a makeshift morgue. The hold was poorly lit, with only a few, weak fluorescent lights, flickering on and off on occasion, providing any kind of luminance. A problem Cid had intended to take care of before the Highwind's next journey, but had due to the current circumstances, had been forced to neglect. 

The climb back up to the Highwind had been a fairly quick one. Yuffie had quickly excused herself, after Nanaki explained what they were about to examine. The others, most of which had already seen what was down there, had decided to wait as well.

Some rudimentary medical examination tools lay on the far side of the room, next to one of the bodies, soaked in blood from Nanaki's post-mortem earlier than night..

"They're humanoid, obviously." Nanaki began, as he and Cloud paced across the room. "Their skeletal structure seems to differ slightly from yours, but their likeness to the people of this world is astounding. Some kind of parallel evolution.." the four-legged beast mused.

As Cloud listened to his friend, he noticed that there seemed to be something missing..

"What about those animals that attacked us?" he asked. "Where are their bodies?"

Nanaki paused, grumbled slightly, as if somewhat embarrassed. "They... dissolved." he explained reluctantly.

"Dissolved?" Cloud asked, puzzled.

"Yes." Nanaki answered. "While I was examining the bodies, they began to decay rapidly. It must have taken less than an hour for them to decompose entirely."

Cloud looked over to where Nanaki was standing. He noticed that there were several dark stains on the floor, roughly circular in shape. The decayed animals' remains.

Nanaki spoke up again. "However, Vincent and I _did_ have the opportunity to perform a quick necropsy on some of the creatures' stomachs before they dissolved, to determine their diet.."

"And?" Cloud followed.

"Nothing." Nanaki replied simply.

"Nothing?" Cloud parroted, waiting for his friend's explanation.

"That was the strange thing." Nanaki replied. "We could not find _anything_ in there, in any of them. No traces of food, or even nutrition. It was as if they hadn't eaten for months."

The red-maned beast paused, before continuing. "And there was something else as well."

"What is it?" Cloud asked. He had the distinct feeling that Red was about to tell him something that he didn't want to hear..

"The cells in their bodies were heavily saturated with those of..." Nanaki paused momentarily. "...Jenova."

"Jenova.." Cloud replied thoughtfully. Strangely, it did not come as a complete surprise to him that Jenova still existed somehow, and yet it was hard to reconcile that knowledge. To believe it was true..

"Could Jenova's cells keep their host alive like that?" Nanaki asked.

Cloud thought about it for a moment. He didn't know much about Jenova, but the fact that its cells would go to those lengths to keep their host alive was entirely plausible..

"It's possible." he replied simply. He knelt down, carefully pulling the sheet away from one of the mangled bodies. Death was nothing new to him in a way, and yet he could never truly get used to it. Seeing it up close like this remained an unpleasant experience, no matter what.

He had only managed a glimpse of them before the fight, and now it seemed that his examination up close would yield very little information that he could not already guess. They were humanoid, all right. Indeed, they looked very much like humans, if perhaps with somewhat more fine, chiseled features. Other than that, between the grafted implants, heavy scarring and copious amounts of blood that shrouded the bodies, any other details were hard to make out.

"Unfortunately, the bodies were too disfigured for us to determine much else about them." Nanaki supplied.

Cloud stood up. "What about these?" he asked, gesturing towards the implants on the body below him.

"The equipment on their bodies..." Nanaki shook his head. "...it seems as if it was _forcefully_ grafted on."

Cloud continued to examine the bodies. He noted that the scar tissue surrounding the masks grafted on their faces seemed to indicate that they had been hastily and violently attached. He wondered what they could be. Some kind of environmental protection..?

"Involuntarily?" Cloud asked.

"Possibly." Nanaki replied. "They too had some trace Jenova cells in their bodies."

"You think they could have been infected beforehand?"

"Before they were attacked, you mean?" Nanaki asked. He thought about this for a second, his tail wagging lazily as he did so. "It's possible..." he answered. "..but... difficult to tell."

A somber silence fell between the two, as they regarded the still bodies on the floor.

"There's something bothering me about these masks.." Nanaki said finally.

"What's that?"

"It looks like they are some kind of air purification equipment. Fairly advanced by the looks of it, but.." Nanaki paused, pacing around one of the bodies, before sitting down again. "..they don't seem to have any _need_ for them."

The red-maned beast looked up at Cloud. "Since you two returned from the other side alive, I would assume that the air on their world is breathable and that the atmosphere is non-toxic.."

"But what if they thought they might have a need for something like that on this side?" Cloud asked.

"You mean.." Nanaki began.

"I'm just guessing here," Cloud continued. "but what if they had no idea of their destination, no control?"

Nanaki pondered this idea for a moment. It seemed strange to him that people in possession of such an advanced technology wouldn't know what they were doing..

"They _were _fleeing from those predators." Nanaki responded. "You think perhaps they didn't have time to choose their destination?"

"Right. And they ended up here by accident." Cloud concluded.

"Well, we're not going to get many answers from them now." Nanaki said.

Cloud slowly shook his head, sighing. This whole scenario was beginning to look really bad. He didn't like it one bit.. "We'll have to get these into cold storage soon." he commented, gesturing to the row of bodies.

"Agreed." Red replied thoughtfully. "The last thing we need is the stench of decaying corpses wafting through the ship."

Cloud was almost morbidly amused for a second. He imagined that with his highly advanced sense of smell, his four-legged friend probably had it much worse right now than any of the others..

"And we might be able to take a closer look at them.." Nanaki continued.

"We may not have time for that." Cloud cut him off. "Call the others for a meeting. Tell them what you told me."

"All right." Nanaki replied, as the two of them headed back up the stairs, exiting the darkened room.

* * *

"So, what do we do now?" Barret asked. 

The group had assembled in the Highwind's Bridge, and all eyes were fixed on the group's unofficial leader, who was sitting on the steps next to the control console, hands folded in front of his face, in deep thought.

"Yeah, what's the plan, boss?" Cid asked, fishing for another cigarette.

Cloud couldn't help a small smirk. Cid had a habit of calling him "boss", ever since the Meteor Crisis had ended. He stood up, and cleared his throat, addressing the group.

"Obviously, we'll have to explore whatever lies on the other side of the gate." he stated simply. "We have no idea what else might come through, so it's better if we make the first move."

"He's right." Nanaki agreed. "Not that I believe we have much choice. If we don't..."

"We might be overrun by Leviathan knows what." Yuffie finished. The others all seemed to agree with that.

"Guess we don't have much choice." Barret said.

"All right. It's settled then." Cloud acknowledged, nodding.

"Wait! What about equipment?" Tifa asked.

"We're only packing a small amount of rations.." Nanaki began.

"... and low firepower, 'cause we sure as hell aren't going to fit the Highwind through that gate." Cid mused.

Cloud thought about this for a moment. They hadn't quite planned for a trip like this, and some additional transport would probably be necessary as well. "All right." he said. "Here's the plan. We'll get some sleep tonight, then head back to Rocket Town in the morning for supplies. After that, we come back A.S.A.P. Cid, you've still got that buggy, right?" he asked, turning to the pilot.

"Yeah. It's a little beat up, but it works." Cid replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Okay," Cloud said. "let's just get some sleep now. We'll head out tomorrow to scour for some equipment. After that, we'll head back through the gate."

Everyone being quite tired by now, either nodded or quietly murmured their agreement to this plan as they began to scatter, leaving the bridge and heading for their respective quarters.

* * *

_Yuffie carefully paced across the ruined landscape. The others weren't far behind. Or at least, she figured that they wouldn't be. It was still too dark to see much. Quiet and cold. Too cold. Too empty. There was nothing out there. Nothing but ashes and ghosts.._

_Suddenly, she turned around, to check up on her friends, but hey were nowhere to be seen._

_"Hey!" she called. "Where are you guys?"_

_There was no answer, the echo of her voice becoming hollow in the distance. Raw, animal fear suddenly gripped her. She was lost in an unfamiliar and hostile world, all alone.._

_Then slowly, subtly, the world around her began to change, reshape itself._

_She heard it before she saw it, knowing instinctively what it was.._

_The heat of the flames burned all around her, as she turned around again._

_Fire_

_The alien world surrounding her had been replaced by one that was all too familiar. The burning houses, the screams of her panicked countrymen.._

_Wutai.._

_The end of the war. The final, hopeless, crippling battle._

_Everywhere she looked, people were running for their lives, their panicked screams filling the air, as the city was methodically bombarded, destroyed. Soldiers desperately tried to hold off the advancing enemy, but even the bravest of Wutai's warriors were no match for their enemy's advanced weaponry.._

_Bodies lay everywhere, buildings burned and crumbled, filling the streets with wreckage. Amidst the carnage, Yuffie found herself racing for her home._

_A single figure lay slumped over on the steps of the Kisaragi mansion, lying face down. _

_"mom?"_

_She pushed the body over, only to be faced with the horrifying sight of her mother's mutilated face, charred and burned away._

_"moooooom!"_

_She knelt over her mother's broken body, tears falling down her face. All she could feel was sadness and anger. Sadness over the loss of her mother, and anger, at her hated enemy, at her own helplessness, her own weakness.._

_Her mother's hands, now no more than bony claws, suddenly, forcefully gripped her own, and wouldn't let go.._

She screamed.

* * *

Outside in the hallway, Cloud was returning from the cargo bay, having made one final check with Red XIII on the bodies stored there. Suddenly, he heard a piercing shriek coming from one of the bedrooms. Yuffie's room.. 

He peeked inside the darkened room, whose door had been left open a small crack. Through the small sliver of light pouring into the room, he could see Yuffie, sitting upright on her bed, clutching the sheets tightly, breathing rapidly.

"...You ok?" he asked cautiously, still halfway outside the room.

The young kunoichi hadn't taken notice of his presence until he spoke. "Y-yeah... I'm fine." she answered awkwardly, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead.

"Are you sure?" Cloud asked.

"I just had a bad dream." Yuffie replied, somewhat more composed. Cloud paused for a moment. He was never quite certain of what to do in situations like this..

"You want to talk about it?" he asked, finally.

"No.." Yuffie replied uncertainly. Cloud made to leave again, closing the door, when she spoke up again.

"...maybe.."

Cloud paused again, then walked inside the room, leaving a small opening for light. He sat down next to the young ninja girl as she shifted over to make room, then waited for her to say something.

"It's just..." Yuffie began, her thoughts still in disarray. "...there's something about that place." she said, looking over at Cloud, who remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

Yuffie looked off into the distance, cast her gaze downwards again. "I guess it just reminded me of some things I'd rather not think about, you know?" she explained wistfully.

"There's something wrong with it, isn't there?" Cloud said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah.." Yuffie replied. She waited a moment, before continuing. "I don't know why, but seeing all that destruction... I guess it reminded me a little bit of home."

Cloud thought about what she was saying. "You mean, during the war?"

Yuffie nodded quietly. "The last days, when we were walled in. I was nine.." she reflected.

The young kunoichi gazed at the wall opposite to her, not really looking at it, as the memories began to surface.

"You know, everyone always expected my parents to have another child." she said suddenly. "Because of tradition, it was frowned upon that a _girl_ would be the heir to the Wutai empire.."

She paused for a moment, before continuing again. "But, when the Shinra raided our capital, my mother was killed." She looked over at Cloud again, who was listening intently. "She was pregnant with my brother or sister at the time. And of course, Wutai law forbids us to remarry, so dad and his cronies were stuck with... me."

She snorted. "Another one of our wonderful traditions."

Cloud thought about what Yuffie had just told him. He felt that he had gained a bit of insight into the girl's past now, something that had only been hinted at before. He felt a bit closer to her now, knowing these things.

"It must've been tough, growing up like that." he said.

"Mmmm.." Yuffie replied thoughtfully. "I've never told anyone that." she admitted. "My dad always clams up when I bring up those days."

She suddenly noticed that she was leaning her head on her friend's shoulder, eyes almost shut. She self-consciously brought herself back into a sitting position. "Ah, I must be getting tired." she said.

"Yeah...um, I'd better get to bed as well." Cloud replied, getting up.

"Cloud?" Yuffie spoke up, as he headed for the door.

"Yeah?" he replied, turning around.

"Thanks." Yuffie smiled at him. "I mean it."

"Anytime." Cloud replied, returning the smile, before heading out the door.

Yuffie sighed, taking one last, lingering look at the thin slit between the doorway and the bedroom wall, before lying back down to settle into an uneasy sleep..

* * *

**Author's notes:**

Well, as you can see, this story's not dead yet. Although I've cut this latest chapter into two (again), so the next chapter I'll be putting up is actually going to be "Revelations, part 2". The good news is that it shouldn't be long off.

I'm sorry about going somewhat against everyone's expectations here at the beginning. (i.e. Cloud and Yuffie not setting off to explore the old Cetra homeworld just yet). I know it was a bit of a false cliffhanger, but realistically speaking it wouldn't be a good idea to explore a place like that, for the reasons listed above. It was important that they _see_ it, though, before going back for assistance. Don't worry, there will be plenty of "personal space" left for all the characters when they need it!

A few things regarding this chapter: It took me a while to get it out, not so much because it was proving difficult to write, but rather because I had take a bit of time to evaluate the pacing, since I'm reaching a part of the story that I need to think through a little better. I pretty much already have the finale in mind, as well as the late chapters, but the next part is still a bit foggy, so bear with me. I've come up with some pretty cool stuff now, though, so stay tuned.

I didn't quite expect the reaction that the last chapter received, and it's made me want to write a little better. I know this chapter was a mite sparse on detail compared to the last few, but there's a lot of talking going on instead, so there's a lot of breaks in between dialogue, which isn't always easy to fill out.

Also, I may have to jump up the rating on this fic soon, as it's becoming rather graphic, and will probably become more so as it progresses. Hope you all have strong stomachs.

Well, that's it for now. Cheers!


	7. Revelations, part 2

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 7  
Revelations, Part 2**

* * *

The wooden floorboards of Cid's house creaked and groaned in protest as he and Barret entered through the door, slamming down the heavy munitions crate they had been carrying between them on the floor of Shera's kitchen. 

It was late in the afternoon the next day. The last rays of sunlight stretched lazily through the simple kitchen window, painting the homely surroundings a dark red colour. The Avalanche crew was gathered around in Cid and Shera's home, having returned to Rocket Town early in the morning.

They had spent most of the day loading up and modifying the Highwind, as well as preparing the dune buggy for their ride. As such, they were all quite tired. Tifa, Yuffie, Vincent and Reeve sat around the kitchen table, relaxing and sipping their tea. Yuffie characteristically sat with her feet placed on the table, leaning her chair dangerously far back, gazing absent-mindedly at the ceiling. Nanaki lay under the table, resting his head on the comfortable rug placed there. Cloud had been chatting idly with Shera about various things, while helping her out with the dishes.

In a way, felt strange for them all to be back in such ordinary and genial surroundings again after their experience the day before, but they were grateful for it, because they knew that they would have to leave again soon, to finish what had now begun..

At present, Cid and Barret had just returned from their excursion to the local gun shop. The others gathered around the large metal crate, curious to see what they had picked up.

"So, what have you got for us?" Cloud asked, crossing his arms.

Cid was grinning from ear to ear at his question. "Well, you _did_ say to get everything he could spare, so.."

The pilot leaned over the large crate and undid its latches, then lifted up the cover. There was a collective gasp as the others took in its contents.

"Holy.." Nanaki began, trailing off.

"Feast your eyes." Cid said.

The inside of the crate was straight from a gun nut's wet dream. Dozens of pistols, rifles, semi-automatic weapons, grenades, ammo belts and other unsorted items lay in a thick pile inside the crate, enough to equip a small army.

Reeve whistled, impressed. "Nice.."

"How much was it?" Cloud asked.

"Eh, we go way back, so it only cost us a _small _fortune." Cid replied. "Still, he threw in some of his private collection." he added, stroking his chin in that way he always did. "He probably figgered it'd be better that _someone_ put'em to good use, ya know?"

"Wow. Who says obsession doesn't pay off?" Yuffie chimed in, rooting through their new "toy chest".

"I'll say." Reeve replied, fishing a large handgun by its nose from the crate, raising one eyebrow as he examined it carefully.

Cloud looked up at the rest of the group, still gawking at the new addition to their arsenal. "Now, I know how some of you feel about guns," he began, glancing over at Tifa, who cast her gaze downwards, before continuing. "..but we can't afford to take any chances. Not after yesterday's incident."

He looked at each and every one of the avalanche members in the room before continuing, "We have no idea what's going to be waiting for us on the other side of that gate." he explained, picking up one of the mid-sized pistols from the crate. "Everyone carries one firearm at _minimum_." he finished. It was not a request.

"Better be safe than sorry, right?" Tifa asked.

Cloud nodded. "Right."

Nanaki cleared his throat inquisitively.

"Eh, sorry, Red." Cloud replied sheepishly. "You're excused."

"Hey, check this out." Cid said, picking something up from the crate. "Looks like we got a couple of STARs." he said, holding up a small, black assault rifle.

"Hmmm..." Cloud scowled slightly as he examined the rifle in Cid's hands. He didn't exactly have fond memories of that particular weapon. The war between Shinra and Wutai had ended not long after he'd joined up, but he had still taken part in a lot of military exercises involving live ammo, and the Shinra Tactical Assault Rifle was notorious for its poor manufacture, leading it to jam often, usually at the worst time. He remembered one training exercise, in particular: A helicopter combat drop training in the middle of a forest south of Junon, where his rifle had jammed on him almost immediately after he'd landed. A number of his teammates had also suffered from the same problem, causing them to lose to the opposing team.

"This is bettern' fucking Christmas.." Cid muttered, rummaging through the pile of guns, picking out a silver-coloured Desert Eagle pistol.

"That's mine!" Yuffie exclaimed, grabbing the gun and playing with it excitedly.

"Hey, don't be wavin' that thing around!" Barret scolded her.

"Why?" Yuffie asked, stopping. "It's not like it's loaded or anything."

"How do _you_ know?" Barret said disapprovingly.

"How do you know it _is_?" Yuffie shot back.

"Why don't you point it at yer head an' pull the trigger, then?" Barret said angrily.

"Why don't I point it at _your_ big, fat, stupid head instead?" Yuffie shouted back.

While the two of them argued, Cid continued to rummage through the crate's contents. "An' here's a little something for you." he said to Vincent, handing him a specially modified rifle, grinning. "Special selection from the shop owner."

Vincent stoically examined the weapon, removing the barrel from the stock, then putting it back into place. Then, without a word, he picked up a clip for the rifle, loaded it, and headed just outside of Cid's house.

"What's he doing?" Reeve asked.

"You'll see." Tifa replied knowingly.

Outside, the cloaked gunman nonchalantly took aim at something near the gates on the far side of town, then fired, severing a decent-sized branch from its tree. Then, just as casually, he then sauntered back inside the house, placing the rifle back into the crate, nodding.

"It'll do." he said simply.

"Show-off!" Yuffie called from somewhere in the back of the crowd.

"All right. Enough of this. We've still got a couple of things left to do." Cid said. "First, we still gotta modify the mooring lines, and I've gotta make a couple more adjustments to the engine before we can leave."

"We also have to check all of these." Cloud said, gesturing to the pile of weapons lying in the crate. The others looked to him, somewhat confused.

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked.

"Who knows when they were last used, if ever?" Cloud asked rhetorically. "If we don't go over them now, they might not work when we're in the mud... and trust me, you don't want _that_ to happen."

"He's got a point." Cid said. "Looks like we'll have to take all these apart, clean'em, and make sure they still shoot ok."

"Or at least don't blow up in our faces." Barret added.

"All right, so it's _three_ things, then." Cid stated. "What are we waitin' for, people? Let's get our asses to work!"

"_More_ work?" Yuffie grumbled, sighing. "We've been at it all day!"

"She's right. And except for Reeve, you guys all have military experience. We don't." Tifa explained, pointing to herself and Yuffie.

"What are you saying, Tif?" Cloud asked.

"What I'm saying is-" Tifa began, before Yuffie interrupted her.

"What's she's saying **is**," Yuffie interrupted, latching onto Tifa's shoulders from behind. "..we're taking the night off!" the young ninja explained, with an impish grin on her face. "Right, Shera?"

"Me?" Shera asked, pausing.

"Yeah, c'mon! What do you say?" Yuffie asked perkily. "Girl's night out?"

"Well..." Shera replied, putting away cutlery she was holding, and wiping her hands on a cloth. "..all right."

"Yeah!" Yuffie cheered, grouping together with the other two girls as the three of them headed out the door.

"See you guys later." Tifa said.

"Yeah, have fun!" Yuffie called, exiting the house, leaving just the guys left. There was a short breath of silence in the room, which now seemed a little empty.

"Eh... women." Cid commented nonchalantly, shrugging and lighting up another cigarette..

* * *

**Author's notes:**

Hey guys, sorry this update took so long. Since the last one, I've been on a 10-day vacation in the US, and I've had a_ lot _of coursework and exams to take care of since then. Also, I apologize for this being the shortest chapter so far. I'd actually written much more material, but none of it was really ready yet, so I decided to make a short cut-off again and put it up just to let you all know that this story isn't dead yet. I _do_ intend to keep writing it, as long as anyone is still interested in reading..

Now, I know that when a fanfiction writer says the next update is "coming soon", they usually end up delaying it for a month or two (and I'm certainly no exception there..), but I will try to update again as soon as possible with the third and final part of this chapter. This part of the story might seem like a detour, but trust me, it's _very_ important in the grand scheme of things, and the action is about to be ramped up a notch or two (evil grin). Stay tuned!


	8. So Much Left Behind

_the rising sun reveals an angel  
my burning heart was overthrown  
she came to take away this pain  
but what I felt was never shown  
so much left unknown_

_I've found the road, but I can't turn back  
overlooked, out of time  
so much left behind_

_beauty flows just like a river  
drowns my soul, purifies  
drift away into forgiveness  
now I'm left to wonder why  
no more tears to cry_

_words to you  
were long overdue  
stormy skies are overhead  
so much left unsaid_

_and the path is hard to find  
when there's so much left behind.._

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 8  
So Much Left Behind**

* * *

The crumbling rocket launch pad could still be seen in the distance, but the town itself had long since faded into darkness. Night had fallen shortly after the guys had left Cid's house. Knowing that the inhabitants of Rocket Town wouldn't take too kindly to loud target practice in the middle of the night, the remaining Avalanchers had decided to head some distance away from the small town in order to set up their impromptu shooting range. 

A small campfire burned in the clearing, surrounded by wooden crates that were to be used as seats and tables as they worked. liquor bottles of all shapes and sizes littered the area, some of which were filled, others which had long since been emptied. Cid, Vincent and Barret had just finished lining up the last rows of empty and half-empty bottles to be used for targets, as Reeve and Cloud rejoined them, carrying the last batch of now sorted weapons over to the site.

"Hmmm, guns and alcohol." Reeve remarked sardonically as he and Cloud arrived. "Who's the genius behind this combination?"

"Take a wild guess." Barret replied, jabbing his thumb towards Cid, who was already cracking open a bottle of whiskey.

"Hey, in your case, it might actually _improve_ your aim." Cid shot back casually, grinning. Barret replied by extending the middle barrel of his minigun attachment, essentially flipping him off with his gun-arm.

"'sides, it's a shame to let all this fine liquor go to waste." Cid added, indicating the unopened bottles scattered around the clearing.

"So, you guys ready?" Reeve asked.

"Just about." Cid replied.

"All right, who wants to step up first?" Cloud asked.

"I think Cid 'better do it, before he's too drunk to hit anything." Barret commented.

Cid said nothing, but simply flicked his cigarette at Barret before stepping up to the shooting range. The airship pilot loaded a clip into one of the 9mm pistols, a standard issue Shinra firearm, and proceeded to unload the weapon roughly in the direction of the bottles lined up in the distance.

"Man, I think you betta' stick to spears." Barret commented, laughing. Only one of the bottles had been scathed by Cid's attempt at marksmanship, and it was still standing.

"Aw, bite me." Cid replied, putting the gun away. He walked over to the assortment of crates, sat down, pulled out another cigarette, and slowly began to take a nearby rifle apart.

Cloud was next on the target range, picking a semi-automatic rifle. He regarded the weapon momentarily, wondering how long it had been since he had fired one of these. The last time he could remember even handling one was back in basic training. Aiming carefully, he fired off several rounds, with short pauses between shots. He was a good marksman, but not a great one. It was fairly obvious that, much like Cid, his real skills lay in close-quarters combat. After finishing his round, he walked over and sat down next to Cid, removing the clip from his weapon and began to take it apart and clean it.

Vincent tested his new sniper rifle next. Glass shattered and liquor spilled, littering the grass underneath the worn wooden fence. Finishing his practice round relatively quickly, he sat down next to the others and quietly joined them in their work. It came as little surprise to anyone that the stoic, raven-haired gunman had managed to hit every target without any apparent effort. However, it was when Reeve took to the firing range that all eyes turned..

Using a handgun like the one Cid had opted for, he had also hit every single target. With perfect precision, no less.

It was Vincent who voiced the concerns of the group. "That was quite good." He said, standing up and reaching his hand out to accept the gun from Reeve. "A little _too_ good for a beginner." He continued, stopping the former Shinra executive in his tracks. Reeve paused, uncertain, apprehensive..

"Is there something you'd like to tell us?" Vincent finally asked, eyeing Reeve cautiously.

"Just.. lucky shots, that's all." Reeve explained weakly, shrugging. No-one was buying that excuse, though, and he knew it.

_"Bullshit."_ Cloud thought, which was incidentally what Cid said aloud.

"_Nobody_ shoots that good without any kind of training." The airship pilot stated matter-of-factly. All eyes fell upon Reeve with suspicion. Although he had been instrumental in their role of saving the world during the Meteor Crisis, the former Shinra executive was still somewhat of an enigma to the rest of the group..

Reeve sighed. He knew that he couldn't keep his secret any longer. He walked sullenly over next to Cid and Barret, sitting down on one of the wooden crates between them. He pointed to Cid's pack of 'Lady Luck' brand cigarettes.

"Can I have one of those?"

Cid wordlessly handed him one, and lit it for him. Reeve took a long, slow drag. He exhaled, thinking back, reminiscing. The others waited patiently for his explanation..

* * *

The Fuzzy Comet was, quite naturally, the best bar in town, as it was also the only one. The three girls entered, sitting down square in the middle of the large oak counter, surveying the inside. Low music played in the background, a few patrons sat scattered here and there, mostly regulars, with the occasional traveller passing through town. Not exactly a busy night. 

"Evenin', Shera." the bartender greeted. "Haven't seen you in here in a while."

"Well, you know how it is, Bill." Shera replied, sitting down at the bar.

"Keeping busy, huh?" The bartender asked casually, placing down the glass he had been cleaning and reaching for another one.

"You know it." Shera replied, smiling.

"So, what can I get you fine young ladies?"

Tifa glanced over at Yuffie, who was silently gawking at the myriad of liquor bottles lined up in front of her.

'This is going to be a long night..' she thought, amused.

* * *

"I wasn't always the head of Urban Development, you know." Reeve began. "To be honest, my story's not too different from any of yours.." 

He took another drag from his cigarette, before continuing. "God, I was young back then... young and stupid." he said, partially to himself. "So I signed up for the army, right? Made it pretty far pretty quickly, too. People told me I had a natural affinity for soldiering." he explained as the others listened. "Before I knew it, I was to be inducted into Shinra Tactical Unit 346."

That name caught everyone's attention. They all knew all too well what that unit was..

"You're a Turk?" Cloud asked.

"Almost was." Reeve replied wistfully. "By then, I'd gotten pretty sick of the military, and I just wanted out."

"But you couldn't just quit." Vincent added.

"Right." Reeve nodded. "Naturally, Shinra wouldn't let people just up and leave their secret units. So I quickly forged some medical documents disqualified me from continued military service, and of course the Turks." he explained. "Long story short, I got an honorable discharge. After that, I decided to continue with my education, and went for a degree in structural engineering. And the rest is history." Reeve finished. He chuckled wryly, shaking his head and taking another drag from his cigarette. "Heh... never thought I'd be working for those bastards again."

He looked towards the sky briefly, before continuing. "That was when I finally learned just how morally bankrupt they all were." He said. "But for some reason, I decided to stay."

"To see if you could help." Vincent replied.

Reeve nodded, not saying anything.

"And you did." Vincent said. "I'm not sure we could done what we did back then without your help."

Reeve put out his cigarette, looking out at the others. "So, there you have it." He said simply.

"You should have told us sooner." Cloud said.

"I hate to resort to an old cliché, but... you never asked." Reeve replied, an almost impish grin on his face.

"Well, it's a good thing you've got that experience to fall back on," Cid said, "'cause we're gonna to need all the help we can get."

Reeve picked up the gun laying on the crate next to him, examining it. "Never did like these, though." He said, "That's why I build Cait instead."

"Well, you're going to have to get used to these again." Vincent said intently, taking the gun from him. "We don't have many other options."

"Yeah.." Barret agreed. "Those things we ran into yesterday didn't exactly go down easy."

"I tell you.." Cid said solemnly. "..this whole situation's fucked up right here."

"Amen." Barret replied, replied taking another swig from his bottle.

Cloud said nothing, but simply stared into the campfire's flickering light. Although tonight's events had taken a rather unexpected turn, he found himself acting strangely detached from them. His thoughts rested on something, no, some_one _else..

* * *

It was getting quite late, and most of the other patrons had left the bar, so that almost no-one remained, except for the three girls sitting at the counter. 

"Hey, barkeep! More drinks!" Yuffie shouted excitedly, waving her mug in the air. Tifa had obstinately refused to allow her young ninja friend near any hard liquor, so she had to settle for light beer instead.

"Quiet down, Yuffie." Tifa scolded her young friend. "You don't want to get carded, do you?"

"I'll let it slip this time." The bartender commented, a good-natured grin on his face as he arrived with refilled mugs.

"Thanks." Tifa replied. "That's Icicle Ale, isn't it?" she asked.

"Heh, you sure know your drinks, don't you, miss?" The bartender replied.

"Well, I used to be a barkeep myself, you know." Tifa answered, smiling.

"Oh, really?" The bartender asked.

"Yeah, back in Midgar." Tifa told him.

"Mmmm. It's a shame what happened over there." The bartender replied solemnly. "If it hadn't been for whatever it was that stopped Meteor..." He paused, shaking his head, "..I'd hate to think of what would've happened next.."

"Yeah, guess we all got pretty lucky.." Tifa replied. She decided to put their conversation to rest. Very few people knew of Avalanche's role in saving the world from certain destruction more than a year ago, and considering the fact that most of them had been publicized as being responsible for the whole incident to begin with, they were quite pleased that their anonymity remained intact..

"Hey Tifa.." Yuffie said suddenly. "I wanna ask you something."

"Go ahead." Tifa urged.

"Um, do you mind if we talk in private?" Yuffie asked, in an uncharacteristically serious tone of voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Should I.." Shera started, gesturing at the exit.

"No, it's ok." Tifa replied, not wanting to alienate Shera. "Yuffie, you can just go ahead and ask me."

"Well, ok.." Yuffie sighed. _"Here goes nothing_" she thought. "Um... If you really liked someone a lot, and didn't know how to tell them... what would you do?"

Tifa eyed her young friend carefully. She seemed to be choosing her words very cautiously. However, it didn't exactly take a genius to figure out what she was getting at. Tifa had noticed what had been going on, even though the group had only been together again for a short amount of time.

"So there's someone that you like?" Tifa replied, "A mutual friend?" she asked. "Someone close to us?"

Yuffie said nothing, but lowered her gaze to the ground, silently confirming what her friend was asking. Tifa paused for a moment, carefully considering what her friend was telling her, before replying. "Yuffie..." She paused, before continuing. "..How serious are you about this?"

Yuffie kept her gaze downward. "...I don't know." she replied. "At first I thought it was just a crush or something.." She trailed off slightly. "..but now... I'm not so sure.." she finished. She chuckled wryly, shaking her head. "I don't even know if it's mutual.."

"Yuffie.." Tifa began, choosing her words carefully. "..I don't know quite how to put this, but.. I don't know if he's ready for something like that. Or if he ever will be again." She eyed her friend intently. "..And I think you know why."

Yuffie nodded. "Yeah.."

Tifa regarded her friend carefully. She could tell that she was dead serious. This was more than just friendly banter or some random flirting. There was definitely a spark between the two... and yet, it was almost as if there were something in the way..

"I'll have a word with him, if you like." Tifa offered.

"No! No, nothing like that!" Yuffie refused hurriedly, waving her hands excitedly.

Tifa thought that her behaviour seemed unusually reserved, but then again, she never really been open about her feelings like this before. Although Yuffie was usually not unfriendly or aloof, part of her psychological defense mechanism, Tifa knew, lay in keeping people at an arm's length, emotionally.

"All right. Tell you what.." Tifa began. "You'll just have to be more open about it." She suggested. "You know how thick-headed Cloud can be sometimes. Especially when it comes to things like this " she added, grinning.

"Yeah.." Yuffie chuckled at Tifa's comment. Then she paused. "Thanks, Teef..." she said sincerely.

Tifa put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Hey, don't mention it. What are friends for, right?" She took another sip from her glass, before she spoke up again.

"I can't make any promises, but I'll help you out if I can."

"What do you mean?" Yuffie asked.

"There's something that I probably should have done a long time ago.." Tifa replied enigmatically.

Yuffie was uncertain what she meant, but decided not to ask. The young ninja cast her gaze downwards onto the bar counter again, turning over the half-empty glass in her hands absent-mindedly, mulling over the events of the past few days..

* * *

The target practice was long since over. It was now sometime well past midnight, and the guys were still gathered around the campfire, most of them well inebriated at this point. It was fairly quiet, and the encroaching darkness served to make the world seem as if it had all but disappeared.. 

"Hey, Cloud. I've been wonderin' something.." Cid spoke up.

"What is it?" Cloud replied.

"Sorry to be draggin' this up an' all, but what rank were you, really?" Cid asked. "I mean, back with Shinra."

Cloud paused for a moment, thinking. "Lance Corporal." He answered finally. "I was part of a small fireteam, back in Junon."

Cid nodded. "Not bad for two years service." he replied, turning his attention towards Vincent. "How 'bout you?"

"Honesty time, is it?" Vincent replied.

"Yep."

"Navy Corporal, I think." Vincent answered. "It's been a long time. I can't quite be certain."

"Two corporals, huh?" Cid replied. "Barret?"

"Jes' a grunt." Barret answered. "I din' stay long."

Vincent turned to the pilot opposite him, nodding. "Cid, your turn." He said.

"I had my choices. Made it to Wing Commander, no less." Cid boasted proudly. "Could've gone for a boring desk job, but I 'cided to become a test pilot instead. It was my way to the stars, y'know?"

"So, what about you, Reeve?" The gunman asked.

"I never made it that far." Reeve replied, making a dismissive motion with his hand. "They approached me pretty early on."

A period of quiet fell upon the group again. There wasn't much need for words. The silent camaraderie that they had all formed spoke for itself, and something seemingly as simple and mundane as speaking of the distant past held more meaning that it seemed on the surface..

Again, it was Cid who finally broke the silence. "What rank was He again?"

The others more or less knew instinctively who he was talking about, even without the mention of a name.

"The General?" Reeve asked.

"Mmmm..." Cid nodded. 'The General' was an honorific assigned to one person, and one person only, by the soldiers who had served alongside him. A man who had been believed to be the greatest warrior of all time..

Sephiroth.

"Guess he was just that." Barret replied. "A general, y'know."

"Was it one or two-star?" Cid asked.

"Just one." Vincent commented from the side.

"Brigadier General Sephiroth." Cloud explained. He wasn't looking at anyone else, but simply gazing quietly into the firelight, seemingly not taking part in the conversation.

Cid snorted. "Old Scratch." he commented.

"Yeah.." Barret replied, shaking his head slightly, and taking another swig from his bottle.

'The General' hadn't exactly been known for his amiability. On the contrary, he was known as one of the toughest drill instructors in the army, and yet he had seemed an understated, almost non-existent entity in all other aspects. As far as anyone could tell, he had no family or close friends, and hardly any social life to speak of. A wraith-like figure, the only thing his life had revolved around was war. And that would go for all those around him as well..

"You know... there were rumors going around that he could have climbed further up the ladder, but that he'd refused to, because wanted to stay in the field." Reeve commented. "Guess he couldn't give up on fighting." he mused.

"Yeah, well... we all know how _that_ went.." Barret replied. Off to the side, unnoticed by the others, Cloud winced ever so slightly, his fists clenching almost involuntarily at the thought..

Cid shook his head, taking a drag from his cigarette. "Crazy bastard.." he muttered under his breath.

"You shouldn't speak ill of the dead." Reeve scolded the pilot seated opposite to him.

"Yeah, that's enough of that crap." Cid agreed. "Here's to the past." He said, raising his glass in the air.

The others all raised their glasses and mugs in one final toast..

* * *

Three demure figures stumbled through the darkness, leaning on each other for support, heading roughly in the direction of Cid and Shera's home. One 'great ninja Yuffie' leaned rather heavily on Tifa's shoulder, trying to stay conscious long enough to get inside the house. Shera seemed to be the only one not struggling to stay on her feet. 

"Tifa, I thought you said you were a bartender once." Shera remarked, helping her friends with their balance.

"I said I could mix drinks, I never said I could stomach them." Tifa explained with a weak smile on her face.

The three girls entered through the door, leaving the lights off as they shuffled drunkenly inside. The guys had already returned, and were crashed out in various locations around the house, having pulled out some extra cots and blankets, which lay scattered about the kitchen and living room. Tifa walked over to the battered sofa at the far end of the small living room and unloaded her ninja friend onto it rather ungracefully.

"Ugh.." Yuffie murmured.

"Need a bucket?" Tifa asked.

"Mmmm... no... I'll be ok.." Yuffie replied weakly, pulling the sheets over her head, looking quite pale and sickly. Tifa shook her head, smiling. _"Poor kid. Looks like she can't hold her liquor, either.."_

Shera headed for the master bedroom while Tifa curled up next to Vincent, who was sleeping on a doubled cot. Yuffie, having had a chance to lie down for a second, brought the sheets down from her head again, surveying the living room. She noticed that Cloud was sleeping on the floor not too far from her, at the head of the sofa. She raised herself slightly, watching him for a second, curious. Instead of the usual worried, angry or indifferent expression he always wore, the look on his face seemed peaceful, almost childishly so. Finally giving in to her now throbbing headache, the young ninja lay down again, pulling the sheets back over her head.

Inside their bedroom, Shera found Cid passed out on the middle of the floor, having failed to reach their bed before succumbing to sleep. Shera chuckled at the sight, fetching a blanket and cot and laid down next to him.

* * *

It was already late in the afternoon when the Avalanchers finally awoke from their slumber. The sun was beginning to lower from the sky, painting the heavens a brilliant, fiery crimson. Everyone was assembled outside of Cid and Shera's house, gathering the last of their supplies, and making a final check up on their equipment as Cid said his goodbyes to Shera. 

"...So, I'll be away for a while. I can't tell ya know how long exactly.." Cid explained. "This time... it might be dangerous."

He looked at Shera with concern, before continuing. "You promise me something, Shera. You promise me... you'll take good care of yourself, if I don't come back. That you'll find yourself someone else.."

Shera smiled, "Cid..." she replied, wrapping her arms around her husband. "There's no-one else I want. Besides... you will come back. I know it."

Yuffie poked at Cloud's shoulder. "Hey, check out Casanova over there."

She pointed at Cid and Shera, with a mischievous grin on her face. Cloud and the others looked over at the couple as they leaned towards each other and kissed. Not a peck this time, but a proper kiss. The others cheered, and Yuffie made a wolf howl at the couple.

"What are you hyenas laughin' at?" Cid asked irritably, walking towards the group, away from his wife.

"Nothin', man, nothin.." Barret replied, still chuckling.

"I never knew you were such a sentimental guy, Cid." Yuffie poked at the bashful airship captain.

Cid couldn't help a grin. "Yeah, fuck you too." he replied, chuckling, giving them the finger as he walked past, towards his airship.

Cloud couldn't help a smile, either. He watched Yuffie as she packed up and headed towards the Highwind. Somehow, he always found himself doing that now. He was always unconsciously taking short glances at the young ninja girl, each time noticing the little things she did, nuances of behaviour, like the way she would adjust the back of her headband every now and then, or stretch, or check her pockets, even though she usually kept nothing in them..

As he made to leave for the airship, Tifa suddenly came up to him. "Cloud, can I have a word with you?" She asked.

"Sure, Teef." The blond swordsman replied. "What is it?"

Tifa pulled him off to just behind Cid and Shera's house, out of the other Avalanche members' sight. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about." She said, when she was certain that they were out of earshot. "I guess you could say it's been a long time coming."

"Go ahead." Cloud urged, uncertain of what to expect. The look on Tifa's face seemed rather serious.

"Now... I know this is a subject you don't like bringing up, but just hear me out, ok?" Tifa said. "..It's about Aeris."

Cloud said nothing, but his mood grew visibly darker. The mere mention of Aeris' name would do that to him..

"You loved her, right?" Tifa asked, almost rhetorically. "I mean, we all did. But there was something special between you two. I don't know exactly what it was, but whatever it was, it was strong." She said, not waiting for a reply. "Anyone could tell that. Even I could.."

She looked intently at her childhood friend, before continuing. "I don't think you've ever really come to terms with her death. "But sooner or later, you're going to have to, because if you don't, it's just going to eat you up inside.."

Tifa placed an empathic hand on her friend's shoulder. "I guess, what I'm trying to say is.. if there's someone else that comes along, someone special... whoever that may be... don't pass them up for a memory, even one that cherished... ok?"

Cloud was speechless. "Tifa.."

Tifa put a hand up to her forehead, wincing. "Sorry.." She said. "I don't know why I brought it up... Maybe it's just the booze talking.."

"Are you ok?" Cloud asked, concerned, noticing that Tifa was looking rather pale. "You don't look so good.."

"Um, had a bit too much to drink last night." Tifa replied, wincing, trying to massage away her throbbing headache. "I think I'll take a nap.."

With that, Tifa walked off towards the Highwind. Cloud stayed behind for the moment, watching his childhood friend as she made her way out of the small town and into the large airship. He thought about what she had just said to him. Her speech had seemed completely out of the blue, but deep down he knew that she was right. As painful as it was to dredge up and confront those memories, those feelings, it was necessary.

_"Maybe I haven't been looking for anything.." _He thought._ "Maybe I've just been running away all this time.."_

He looked at the airship in the distance, its large engines revving up for the flight ahead._ "Well.." _he thought,picking up his backpack and heading towards the ship._ "...I'm through running away..."_

The downdraft from the Highwind's propeller blades became stronger, causing the trees surrounding the airship to bend and sway violently as he stepped onto the ship's loading platform, his resolve growing with every step.

_"...from myself."_

* * *

**Author's notes:**

I'm going to cut the author's yak short here. Thankfully, the more introspective portion of this story is done, so it should flow more smoothly now. It took me forever to get this done. But this is the part where the roller coaster starts tipping off the edge..

Also, a bit of trivia here: I did some (very slight) research on military ranks for this chapter, and settled on Sephiroth's rank being that of Brigadier General, due to the fact that the word derives from "briger" (old French), which is subsequently derived from the Celtic word "briga", which means "strife". It seemed appropriate.

Next chapter hopefully coming sooner than this one. Stay tuned.


	9. Haunted

_look out at the darkness  
and you will see_

_just call my name  
and I'll be there_

_you cannot touch me  
you would not dare_

_I am the chill that's in the air_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 9  
Haunted**

* * *

Tifa awoke slowly. Feeling too tired to get up right away, she lay there in bed for a few moments, eyes still closed. From her bunk, she could hear the sound of rain beating against the window of her quarters. Finally, With some effort, she pried her eyes open, raising herself into a sitting position. The martial artist placed her hand against her forehead, wincing. The headache hadn't quite left her yet, but at least it had subsided from a sharp pain into a dull throb. 

She let out a small sigh, a cloud of mist rising from her mouth as she did so. The small room felt unusually cold, and she was feeling reluctant to abandon the safety and warmth of her bed just yet. Pulling the sheets closer to ward off the cold, she glanced outside the small, circular window. The night was pitch-black, making it impossible to see anything. The seemingly endless blackness was interrupted only by the occasional flash of lightning, followed by the distant rumble of thunder. A storm was raging outside, whereas inside the ship, aside from the low, steady hum of the ship's engines, everything seemed eerily quiet..

Closing her eyes again momentarily, she began to shake off the mental cobwebs of sleep, remembering where she was. The last thing she could remember was that she had decided to take a nap on the airship while the group flew back to the Lost City. _"We haven't landed yet.."_ she thought to herself, wondering how long exactly she had slept..

Tifa waited for a few moments more, eyes closed, leaning up against the cold steel wall. She still didn't feel like getting out of bed, but she knew that she couldn't sleep forever, either. Finally, she decided to go check up on the others. She forced herself to get up, her body aching in protest. She swung her legs off the bunk, shivering slightly as her bare feet touched the icy metal floor. She laboriously put on a pair of jeans and her usual black shoes, then headed out the door, her eyes gradually adjusting to the light in the corridor.

As she passed through the Highwind's fuselage, she could swear that she had heard a noise, like metal scraping against metal, coming from somewhere... below? Curious, she paused, waiting to see if she would hear anything else. The sound was faint, but it was there. Coming from beneath her feet. She traced the source of the sound towards the sealed door leading down into the ship's cargo bay, stepping over the slanting gap in the middle of the floor as she did so.

She put her ear up against the metallic door, waiting for the sound to manifest itself again, but it seemed to grow more faint as she waited. Then suddenly there was a loud crash, causing the panicked martial artist to back away from the door hastily. She waited for a second, then checked to make sure the door was sealed. Tifa knew that it could only be opened from her side, meaning that none of the others could be down inside the cargo hold.

And yet... there was_ something _moving around down there..

* * *

"Your move." 

The rest of the Avalanchers were gathered in the Highwind's command deck. Nanaki and Vincent sat on the floor opposite each other, playing a game of chess, with Vincent making Nanaki's moves for his opponent, as the red-maned beast's paws didn't lend themselves very well to the task of moving the small pieces on the board. Nanaki let out a deep, slow rumble from the back of his larynx, what the others referred to as his "thinking sound", his tail swishing slowly back and forth as he pondered his next move..

Yuffie lay on the floor next to them, resting her head on her hands, humming to herself. She watched their game absent-mindedly, with a look of extreme boredom on her face. Chess had always seemed like a pretty stuffy, not to mention geeky activity to her, but unfortunately for the young ninja, she didn't have a whole else lot to do at the moment.

Cloud watched their game as well, taking some interest in observing Vincent and Red's differing playing styles. The two of them took forever to decide on a move, and they both seemed very reluctant to exchange any pieces. At present, both of them were left with a handful of pawns, as well as a couple of other units. Nanaki had managed to hold onto a rook, as well as one of his knights, whereas Vincent had been almost fanatically protective of his bishops, the "snipers" of the game, appropriately enough.

Cid stood at the control console, one hand resting on the wheel, clutching an almost burnt-out cigarette. He casually guided the ship through the storm, making small adjustments to the Highwind's course as necessary. Reeve and Barret made small talk, whilst observing the slow-moving chess game taking place in the middle of the room. The only one not present in the room was Tifa, whom they had last seen sleeping off her hangover in her quarters.

Nanaki lifted himself up from the ground, stretching. "Knight takes pawn. Your move." he announced. Vincent nonchalantly moved the pieces as his animal companion dictated. The gunman was about to contemplate his next move, when Tifa entered the command deck, visibly still groggy from her nap earlier.

"Hey, you guys know what that noise is down in the cargo bay?" she asked, pointing her thumb back out the door. The others looked up at her.

"Noise?" Cid asked, perplexed. "What noise?"

"I don't know..." Tifa replied, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "...but it sounds like something's... _moving around_ down there."

Everyone in the room looked around at each other in surprise. "We're all here." Vincent said, confirming what everyone else was thinking.

"And we dropped the bodies off back in Rocket Town.." Reeve added, in a quiet tone of voice.

Tifa frowned. "Well, whatever it is, it sure is making a lot of noise.."

Cloud stood up, glancing over at the others, before wordlessly hefting his sword and heading out the door into the main fuselage. The rest of the group followed in tow, brandishing their weapons as well. Everyone gathered at the doorway under the staircase leading to the observation deck, at the vault-like door to the cargo bay.

"All right, let's see what's going on down there.." Cid said. The pilot walked over to a nearby panel on the wall, flipped it open, and punched a numerical code into the console, before hitting a larger button next to the keypad. The floor of the Highwind's main fuselage had been designed so that it could be opened in the middle, for easy access. He and the others waited for a moment, expecting the floor above the cargo bay area to part. But nothing happened..

"The hell..?" the airship pilot muttered under his breath. "..Piece of junk.."

He entered the code again, then banged on the panel a couple of times, sighing. "Must've blown a fuse, or the wiring's out or something.." he muttered to himself. He looked over at Cloud, who was standing next to him. "Looks like we're headin' down."

Cid glanced over at the rest of the ship's crew. It was wordlessly decided that he and Cloud would head down, while the others waited upstairs. Cid walked over to the doorway, unlocking the handle with one of the keys that he carried around his neck, then retracted the bolt locking the door in place. The ship's pilot led the way down the steps, with Cloud close behind him, their steps echoing faintly off the metallic surfaces around them.

The cargo bay was dank and dark, its few working lights flickering on and off seemingly as they pleased. The room's low ceiling and lack of windows did nothing to diminish the overpowering sense of claustrophobia, either. The floor itself somehow seemed almost empty, the unnamed bodies having been removed. As they reached the end of the small staircase, Cid sauntered over to a panel on the wall, similar to the one on the floor above. It was open, and its wiring had been ripped apart, quite violently by the looks of it. Cloud and Cid exchanged a quick look, both thinking the same thing. This was not good..

_"There's something down here, all right.." _Cloud thought. He looked over at the far side of the room. He could have sworn that he had seen something moving there, in the shadows. He gestured for Cid to follow him. The two of them headed forward slowly, carefully, ready for anything.

As they neared the other end of the room, they began to make out a sound underneath the constant hum of the ship's engines... like claws scraping against the cold metal floor..

And then, a low growl..

They both froze, their weapons at the ready, as they spotted the shape in the darkness in front of them. Piercing red eyes stared at them from the blackness of the bay's corner. Their guard slipped momentarily as the beast stepped out of the shadows.

It was the same kind as the monsters that they had fought just the other day. Only this one was bigger.

_Much_ bigger..

The beast seemed as though it could hardly fit inside the cargo hold, let alone through the doorway. It's crimson eyes flashed with recognition as it observed the two beings standing before it.. The beast bared its fangs, clearly quite angry at the two..

"What the f..." Cid began, the cigarette dropping from his mouth. He was abruptly cut off, however, as the huge beast lunged forward, slashing away frantically. Cloud grabbed the pilot by his arm and pulled him away, heading back towards the stairs, as the monster charged them. He knew that it would be useless to attempt to fight something like that down there..

They barely reached the staircase in time, coming around the turn just as the monster smashed into the wall right behind them, growling and roaring. The two of them rushed back out through the cargo bay door, tripping over the upraised sill in an almost comical fashion as they rushed to escape the rampaging beast behind them. The others backed away as the monster tried to force its way through the door, despite being much too big to fit through.

Cid and Cloud quickly got up and joined the others, who were now gathered around the door in a semi-circle. The others barely had time to figure out what was going on, as the beast frantically began to smash its way through the door's jambs. The steel wall began to bend and give way, as the beast charged the steel barrier repeatedly..

The others had recovered from the initial surprise, and began to ready their weapons. "What the hell is this thing?" Barret shouted.

"Who the hell cares?" Cid shouted back. "Shoot it!"

Reeve, Barret and Vincent all raised their guns, preparing to fire, but before any of them could let off a shot, the monster smashed its way through the steel doorway with incredible force, knocking everyone to the ground as it violently forced its way through.

Everyone scrambled back to their feet, as the beast looked around, assessing its new prey. Cloud and Cid, now at opposite ends of the group, swung their weapons away at the beast, which dodged narrowly before any of their hits connected. The beast wheeled around, forcing everyone back as it did. The ship's narrow spaces made fighting the large animal both awkward and difficult, as they had little to no room to maneuver, and nowhere to run.

Suddenly, Nanaki lunged at the large animal, sinking his teeth into its flesh. The animal, howling in pain, spun around wildly, shaking his attacker off, smashing him into the nearby wall. Nanaki yelped in pain as he smashed against the hard steel wall, and the others winced collectively as they heard something snap.

Barret raised his gun-arm, the barrel of his minigun emplacement spinning up, but before he could fire the beast snapped away at him. Then it charged, knocking Barret down, along with Vincent and Yuffie, and forcing Cid against the wall, almost crushing the airship pilot with its bulk. The beast had managed to get in a hit, slashing Barret quite badly. The big man fell to the floor, clutching his chest and grimacing..

Tifa helped pull Vincent up to his feet and away from the raging beast, but Yuffie was still laying on the floor as the beast turned round again. It seized the opportunity and pounced on the young girl, pinning her down, its claws digging into her exposed abdomen..

"Yuffie!" Cloud shouted, panicking. Not knowing what else to do, he charged right at the beast, jumping up and ramming his buster sword right into the animal's back. The beast went mad, exploding into a paroxysm of rage. It releasing its grip on the young ninja, trying to shake off its attacker, screaming. Cloud held on firmly, straining to hold on, as the beast tried all it could to get rid of him..

_As all of this took place... _

_...below deck, an electrical spark fizzled through the wirings of the ruined control panel.._

Cid and the others backed away from the spectacle in front of them, knowing there was little they could do to help. Suddenly, the floor began to move underneath their feet. Too late, Cloud realized that the three of them were right in the middle of the now-splitting floor. The monster backed away, taking a misstep, one of its hind-legs falling between the two sides of the floor.

Cid and the others watched in horror. Before they knew it, Cloud, Yuffie, and the monster had been swept under the narrow crack that had opened in the floor. They fell down into the darkened cargo hold.

As if acted on by an outside force, another, final, spark pulsated through the wirings, causing the gap to close again, before any of them could react. They hurried over to the doorway leading down into the cargo bay, but they realized that it was no use, as the door and walls were now no more than a pile of twisted scrap metal, making it impossible to get through. They looked down at the angular split in the floor, where their friends had been standing only moments ago.

_They were trapped down there, alone with that thing.. _

* * *

**Author's notes:**

No, this story's not dead yet. Although I've been finding less and less time to write it. Now, I know that chapters 6 through 8 might have seemed slightly meandering, but essentially they form the backbone of the events that are about to take place. However, the story now, as they say, back on track.

As you can see, some of the story's horror elements are coming to light. Again, I've split a larger chapter into two parts, or more, possibly. It was the only way I was ever going to get done with this part, so I figured "what the hell". As for the monster featured in this chapter.. Where did it come from? You'll find out soon enough. Maybe some of you have guessed already.

Thanks to everyone for their input and attention so far! Feedback is always appreciated, whether you have comments and criticisms, or if you just want to say you like the story (or not). Stay tuned.


	10. Haunted, part 2

_falling inside again  
this nightmare always the same  
still never enough  
halting at the brink of discovery  
moving into the darkness  
leaking inside to cover up  
dragging me down and under  
entangled and undone at once_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 10  
Haunted, Part 2**

* * *

Darkness. The whole world was suddenly swept into darkness as they fell down below. Cloud braced himself for the inevitable impact, but it still hurt like hell as he crashed into the hard, metallic floor below, landing awkwardly on his side. His sword fell down beside him with a loud clang, which resonated throughout the cargo bay. Unable to see anything, he forced himself to his feet as quickly as he could. All he could hear was his own ragged breathing as he struggled to make anything out through the impenetrable blackness.. 

He quickly took in his surrounding as one of the cargo bay's lights flickered briefly to life, causing a short burst of pale green light to illuminate the area, before quickly dying away again. Yuffie lay at his feet, clutching at her side, moaning, blood pooling on the floor below her. Behind them, the great beast was struggling to its feet, shaking off its concussion from the hard landing.

Thinking fast, Cloud knelt down, slinging the girl's right arm over his shoulder, helping her to her feet. Between her concussion from the fall and the wound she had just received, she could barely walk. He hurried the two of them behind a collection of metal crates in the far corner of the bay. The two of them lay up against the stack of crates, awkwardly huddled together as they hid from their pursuer.

Cloud peeked out over the corner of the crate, trying to spot the monster to see if it had followed them, before turning his attention back to the girl in his arms. "Yuffie.." he whispered. "are you.." he began, meaning to ask her if she was all right. _"Of course she's not all right, you idiot.."_ he scolded himself mentally, before rethinking his question. "How bad is it?" he whispered, fearing for the life of his friend, while at the same time desperately trying not to attract the attention of the beast wandering around mere inches away from the two of them..

Yuffie remained quiet, resting against his frame, her breathing shallow. Cloud closed his eyes, wincing, as he ran his hand over her abdomen, finding several deep, circular marks with his fingers. He could feel the warm blood seeping out over his arm..

"I... I can still help.." Yuffie managed, clutching weakly at her combat shuriken, its edges scraping softly against the cold metal floor as she feebly attempted to heft it, but by the sound of her voice, she was close to drifting out of consciousness.

"Shhh..." Cloud cooed softly, caressing her raven black hair with his free hand, soothing her. "Don't talk.." he said, as he dug his hand down into one of his pockets, searching for his curative materia. The monster edged closer, searching, trying to pick up the scent of its prey. Cloud carefully looked out over the corner of the metal crate one more time. Then he began to concentrate on the small jade orb in his hand. He only hoped that it wasn't too late..

* * *

"Get that damn thing open _now!_" Barret shouted, waving his gun-arm wildly at the sealed access way. 

The situation above was little better. Nanaki still lay unconscious on the floor. Tifa was busy nursing Reeve, who was recovering from a wound he had received during the unexpected attack only moments earlier, while Cid, Vincent and Barret worked frantically to try and get the floor access-way open again.

"Damnit!" Cid cursed, wrestling with the now hopelessly damaged control panel. He backed away, cursing heavily as several sparks flew from the torn wiring. "It's no good!" he shouted back. "We'll have to do it manually.."

The pilot hurried over to another section of the floor and knelt down, opening a hatch in the floor, inside of which were several gears apparently used in the door's locking mechanics. "We'll have to crank the floor open." he explained to the others, who were gathered around him. "Vince, Barret, go check the engine room for tools." he ordered. "Tifa, hit the storage container in the bridge and find me an oil can."

"What about me?" Reeve asked, as the others hurried off to carry out their respective tasks.

The airship pilot looked at him intently. "Go fetch our 'toy box'." he said in a lowered voice. "We're gonna teach that mother fucker a lesson he won't ever forget."

As Reeve and the others rushed off to assemble the equipment needed to pry the floor open, Cid lit up a cigarette to calm his nerves, and began to examine the mechanical workings inside the hatch to see how to best deal with them. As he did so, the chilling thought crept up into his mind. _By the time they broke through, their friends might already be.._

* * *

In the encroaching darkness, Cloud felt the wound slowly closing, as the viridian tendrils of mako wrapped around the lesions on the girl's abdomen. Yuffie was awake almost instantly, her ashen eyes snapping open, now full of vitality, as the jolt of mako energy shot through her body. As she came about, the two of them heard the beast roar knowingly behind them. Cloud tensed up. Just as he'd feared, the luminescence caused by his use of the materia had given away their hiding place.. 

Cloud pushed the two of them up and out of the way just as the beast charged, smashing into the pile of crates behind which they had taken cover. The topmost crate crashed overhead into the opposite wall as they ducked away into the corner of the room. They tried to get away, but there was nowhere to run. They were trapped, their backs up against the wall as the monster sauntered up towards them. In the dark, all they could make out were the faint outlines of the hulking beast before them, its red eyes ablaze with fury.

Suddenly, a thin sliver of light penetrated through the darkness from above. Cloud looked up. _"The others..."_ he realized. They were prying the floor open by hand. There was still hope of getting out of this situation alive..

Yuffie looked out behind the approaching beast. Her shuriken lay a foot or so away, but out of reach none the less. Cloud's sword still lay in the middle of the floor where he had landed. Weaponless and caught in hopelessly confined quarters, their chances were still poor at best. The two of them glanced at each other, reaching a mutual, unspoken understanding. As the beast pounced, they ducked away in separate directions. The monster hit empty air, but the dagger end of its tail cut into Cloud's side as he attempted to dodge its attack.

The beast turned its attention to the blond swordsman, swiping away. Cloud dodged, rolling sideways across the floor, catching his sword with one hand as he rose again, entering his battle stance. He held his blade straight forward, using it to force a distance between himself and the monster directly opposite to him. They began to circle each other ever so slightly, eyes locked on each other. Cloud glanced over the creature's shoulder to see Yuffie moving behind it, going for her weapon. He turned his attention again to the beast in front of him, trying to keep it distracted long enough to allow his companion to rearm herself.

"Cloud, duck!" Yuffie's voice called from the other end of the room. He ducked away just as the young ninja's shuriken flew across the center of the cargo bay, slicing into the top of the beast's head, cutting into its flesh quite badly. The animal roared in pain, turning its attention towards its attacker. Cloud jumped on the opportunity and slashed into the beast's side with a hard sideways stroke, causing it even more damage. The two of them continued to distract the beast as the other attacked, striking and defending as the opportunity presented itself. They both knew that they could fend the monster off for a few moments in this manner, but there was no way that they could defeat it in such narrow conditions..

The monster backed away at last, becoming aware of its attackers' plan. Cloud and Yuffie joined up in the middle of the room, facing the animal. The beast charged the two, coming at them with full force. Cloud moved in the way to try and stop it, but Yuffie pushed him out of the way before he could react. The beast's attack knocked her away, smashing her against the wall. Cloud rose to his feet again, jumping right into the beast's way as it attacked again. The two intersected each others path in the air, cutting each other quite badly. Cloud fell down on the floor close to Yuffie. They were both too badly hurt to put up any further resistance, and they knew it.

The monster began to approach them, moving in for the final kill. Yuffie crawled over to her friend, who was struggling in vain to get back up. They huddled together awkwardly on the cargo bay's floor, knowing that the end was approaching. They could hear voices coming from above, sounding distant and distorted. A sharp brightness suddenly washed over them. The thin sliver of light had slowly grown larger as they had fought off the beast that was coming to finish them off..

They looked up, realizing that the cargo bay's accessway had been spread open just wide enough. The others stood above the monster, weapons in hand, grim looks on their faces. The monster paused, turning its attention to the people standing above it.

Cid shook his head, raising his gun. "It's lights out for you, pal."

The monster bared its fangs, growling..

Cid stared back at it coldly, squeezing the trigger of his pistol. The gunshot echoed throughout the airship. The next moment quickly faded into a barrage of muzzle flashes, expended casings littering the ship's floor as the others joined the pilot in his relentless attack on their enemy. Guns extended, they rained fire upon the beast until they were satisfied that it was dead..

* * *

Ample light flooded down upon the grizzly scene from above, the accessway having been permanently forced open. Cid walked up to the large carcass laying in the middle of the cargo bay's floor, casually prodding it with his spear. The monster was quite dead, or at least it certainly _seemed_ that way. "How the hell'd this thing sneak on board..?" the pilot muttered, asking no-one in particular.. 

The group was gathered below in the cargo bay. Yuffie sat huddled against the far wall of the room, almost in a state of shock, brought on by the brutal fight she had endured only moments earlier. Tifa sat down next to her and Nanaki, tending to their wounds and offering small talk.

Cloud was a little better off, his wounds already beginning to heal, thanks to the Jenova cells in his body. Reeve and Barret were busy examining the area to determine exactly how much damage the attack had caused. A few electrical devices here and there let off the occasional electrical spark, indicating ruptured wire work. Vincent surveyed the whole scene with characteristic calmness.

"I don't think it did." Cloud stated simply, replying to Cid's question. The others looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked.

"It was us. We brought it on board.." Cloud stated simply.

"He's right." Nanaki's gravelly voice came from behind them. The red-maned beast rose to its feet, finally well enough to move again. He paced over to the middle of the floor, where Cloud and Cid were busy examining their fallen enemy.

"Notice the areas where the smaller animal's bodies were? The residue they left behind when they decomposed... it's all gone."

The others considered the implications of what they were saying. Yuffie rose to her feet, clutching at her arm, looking over at Cloud and Nanaki, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Wait. Are you telling me that those things... _fused_? Came back to life, just like _that_?"

Cloud and Nanaki remained quiet, the look on their faces grim.

"No way!" Yuffie shouted, incredulous. "That's not possible!" She paused, searching for any change in gesture or mood from the two. She didn't find any. "...is it?" she finally added, uncertain.

"It is." Cloud replied, his expression darkening, as he regarded their fallen foe.

"Just what the hell are dealing with here?" Reeve muttered under his breath.

"Jenova... evolved." Nanaki replied, eyes focused on the rotting carcass. "Look," he remarked. "It's already starting to decompose again."

The body was indeed becoming thinner as they all watched, as if it were simply leaking apart.

"What do we do with it?" Yuffie asked, her tone of voice somewhat fearful.

"Burn it." Cloud replied sharply, gaze fixed upon the decaying, yet still alive entity before them..

* * *

It was closing in on midnight when the Highwind finally landed on the outskirts of the lost city, leaning as before over the cliffs overlooking the cityscape. They had all gathered in silence outside of the ship to build the fire. The sickly corpse was hastily wrapped in cloth, doused with gasoline and set on fire, with few words exchanged. They silently watched it burn, hoping that it would be enough. 

It would have to be, because they all knew that there was no turning back now..

* * *

Cloud paced the command deck of the Highwind restlessly. He sighed, clenching and unclenching his fists. He didn't know why, but he had been feeling irritable all night, ever since they had landed, and was certainly in no mood to sleep. An hour or so had passed since they had arrived back at Ajit. It was sometime just after midnight, and the others were all fast asleep in their rooms, having decided to rest overnight, before heading out through the gate in the morning. 

He tapped idly on the ship's control console as he passed it by yet again, trying to concentrate on something, _anything_. His mind was working overtime, trying to make sense of all the things that were happening around him: The portal gates, Jenova, their new enemy's' ability to seemingly regenerate themselves _after_ death, the ruins waiting for them on the other side, the mysterious visitors whose tattered and torn bodies they had left behind in rocket town... all jagged pieces of a puzzle that refused to make any sense. And then, of course, there was that certain _someone_, who he recently couldn't stop thinking about..

Finally, he gave up, and decided to head out to the observation deck for some fresh air. His footsteps echoed hollow off the metal walls of the airship in the quiet of the night. As he stepped out onto the deck, he noticed that someone else was already there, leaning over the rails, looking up at the night sky.

Her..

The storm had finally subsided, and the stars were out, brightening the clear night sky. The northern lights danced and wove their way across the heavens. Coupled with the dizzying sight of the ancient city below, the view from up there was truly breathtaking. But most striking of all was the girl silhouetted by it all, seemingly unaware of anything else in the world around her as she watched the mesmerizing spectacle being played out in the cosmos.

_"Gods, she's beautiful.."_ Cloud thought, frozen still for a moment by the scene before him.

Finally, he managed to force himself to move again. "Can't sleep?" he asked, walking over to Yuffie's side, leaning over the rails next to her.

"Oh...no." Yuffie replied, turning around as she noticed that she was no longer alone. "Not after what happened tonight." she explained, offering an apologetic half-smile. "You?"

Cloud shook his head slowly. "I'm not really feeling tired."

"You sure?" Yuffie asked, concerned. "You look pretty beat."

"Yeah.." Cloud replied, looking down. "..guess I do." He certainly _felt_ tired, mentally as well as physically, but somehow he found that he just couldn't rest easy. Not with the events of the past few days in mind. He looked over at Yuffie. She still seemed fairly shaken up after the night's events, but she was looking a whole lot better than earlier that night.

The two of them looked out over the cityscape for a moment, before Yuffie broke the silence between them. "Hey..." she began. "I forgot to say thanks.." she looked over at Cloud. "..for what you did tonight." she explained. "I guess that's _two_ I owe you."

Cloud made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "It's nothing, really. If it hadn't been for what _you_ did, I'd probably be missing half my head right now." He replied. "Besides, no-one's counting, right?" he said, offering a friendly smile.

Yuffie grinned, nodding. "Right.."

Another moment of silence. This time Cloud spoke up first. "I didn't know you were one for stargazing." he said.

"You kiddin'?" Yuffie replied. "I used to do this all the time." she gestured out towards the sky. "Sometimes we'd have the fiercest rows, my dad and I." she explained, "I'd get so worked up, so I used to climb up Da Chao at night and watch the stars to calm myself.." she explained.

The two of them continued to look out at the scenery before them. There was nothing else besides the two of them to interrupt the quiet of the night. The ship's positional lights flaring rhythmically in succession, the only discernable movement. The world was still, as if they were the only two beings left in it.

Yuffie glanced at Cloud, regarding his eyes briefly. Every time she looked at them, she found herself entranced by those deep blue irises, which seemed as thought they were always slightly moving, pulsating ever so slightly, never quite staying still..

She forced herself to stop looking, and her eyes fell down to the gate, below in the city, its arcs still crackling with the raw energy of the lifestream, bleeding amber light in the dark.

"So, we're heading back out there tomorrow, right?" she said. "Think it'll be as much of a shock to the others, you know, seeing what's there?"

Cloud shrugged. "Probably."

"What do think we'll find out there?" Yuffie asked.

"Besides an archaeologist's wet dream, you mean?" Cloud replied.

Yuffie chuckled. "Ha, I guess you're right. We'll just have to wait and see, huh?"

Cloud smiled warmly at her. "Guess so.."

Talking about their journey, they both couldn't but feel a certain sense of togetherness, being the only ones who had actually crossed over to the other side. Now they had something in common that none of the others did.

"Say, you never told me where you went." Yuffie said suddenly, changing the subject. "All this time that you've been off on your own, travelling. Where'd you go?"

"Everywhere I could." Cloud explained, looking out over the railings. "I just felt like I had to keep moving."

During his travels in that past year, he'd pretty much been everywhere and done everything. Climbed mountains, crossed valleys and deserts, lived in the wilderness, gone between continents by sea and air, driven for miles and miles down seemingly endless roads, in search of _something_... but he didn't even know what that something was, whether he was searching for inner peace, or just fulfilling the inexplicable urge that he felt to get from one place to the next, it seemed to be all that mattered. All that he _could_ do..

"Why?" Yuffie asked, perplexed.

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know. I just felt restless, I guess."

"Restless?"

Cloud nodded slowly. "Restless... and numb."

"Numb? What do you mean?" Yuffie asked, confused.

Cloud sighed. "Like when we all met up in Cosmo Canyon... I knew I should have felt happy to see all my friends again, but somehow, I just didn't. I couldn't feel anything... at all." he explained, offering her an apologetic look.

Yuffie waited, studying her friend's features. "What about now?" she finally asked.

"I'm not sure.." Cloud replied. He shook his head slowly. "Maybe it's just a matter of time."

It was strange, Cloud thought. In a way, it was easier to open up to someone with whom he had no past. Aside from their meeting each other little under a year ago, there were still a lot of things that they didn't know about each other, their relationship not weighed down by the distant past.

Yuffie nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. She leaned out further over the railings, casting her gaze downwards. After a moment, she looked up at her friend again, her expression somewhat difficult to read this time..

"Cloud?" she asked. "Did you... hate Wutai?"

Cloud was put off balance by her question, which seemed to be completely out of the blue. Certainly nothing he had expected.

"What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

"Your dad was killed during the war, right?" Yuffie asked. "Tifa told me about it." she explained. "Is that why you signed up with Shinra? For revenge?" she asked. Her tone was not one of bitterness or anger, but simply one of curiosity.

Cloud shook his head slowly, leaning over the railings, looking off into the distance. "I never really thought about it like that." he explained. "...I had other reasons for joining up." he sighed, shrugging. "I guess I wanted to... I don't know, impress people. Prove something to them. To myself.."

"Mmmm..." Yuffie replied thoughtfully, looking out towards the horizon as well, her manner distant, all of a sudden. Cloud had a distinct feeling that she wasn't really looking out at anything in particular anymore, but rather reminiscing..

"You know... I always despised the Shinra, after what they did to us." she spoke up. She looked over at her friend. "When I first met you, I instinctively hated you, even if you weren't with them anymore. All that mattered was that you were once part of them. That made you an enemy. Someone to focus all my anger and resentment on." the young ninja girl told him. She let out a slight sigh, casting her gaze downwards. "And I really wanted to hate you for all the things they'd done to us. I thought that would make things easier.."

Yuffie looked back up at Cloud, directly into his eyes this time. "But then I learned... things are never that simple."

"Yuffie.." Cloud said softly, moving closer to the girl next to him. They hadn't realized before, but they were now standing quite close to each other. Little by little, they both found themselves leaning in closer..

Yuffie tiptoed slightly to make up for their difference in height, giving Cloud a quick peck on the cheek. Then she backed down again, blushing fiercely, not looking up.

"Um, I just... felt like doing that." she explained demurely, tapping her right foot nervously on the ground, placing her hands behind her back. "...That's all." She looked up at her friend again briefly.

"Uh... good night." she added hastily, before rushing off back inside the ship.

Cloud smiled slightly, nodding. "Goodnight.." he replied. "...your highness."

* * *

Tifa stood by the window of her quarters, arms folded, a look of worry on her face. 

"Tifa.." Vincent said, as he entered the room. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing.." Tifa lied, but she knew that Vincent would see right through it. She felt his hand fall upon her shoulder as he moved up next to her.

"Come on, Tifa. I know you better than that." Vincent said in an empathic tone of voice. "What's bothering you?" he asked.

Tifa sighed, accepting Vincent's hand as he encircled her in his arms. "It's just.." she began, faltering to put it into words. "I couldn't do it.." She cast her gaze down towards the floor, as she continued. "When we were being attacked tonight. I couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger. I just couldn't."

She looked back up at her fiancé, tears welling up in her eyes. "..even if my friends' lives were at stake." she whispered. Vincent caressed the side of her face with his good hand, brushing his lips gently against hers.

"I know." he replied, as they parted. "It'll be all right." he assured her, running his fingers through her long, raven black hair. "I'll take care of that, for both of us. You don't have to worry about that. Ok?"

"Ok.." Tifa replied, resting her head on his shoulder. They stayed that way indefinitely, caught up in each other's arms, unmoving. There was nothing else, and no words necessary.

* * *

A cold rush of air slipped inside as Cloud shut the door leading out to the observation deck. He's spent a few more minutes alone out there, watching the stars, trying to make some sense of his muddled thoughts, before eventually giving up and deciding to go back inside the ship. By now, the others would almost certainly be asleep. He sighed as he descended the steps leading back down into the airship. He knew that the others were all counting on him to hold things together. They looked up to him to take care of things, even though they knew that he was far from infallible.. 

He didn't quite know what they all expected of him. He'd never felt like a hero, or the proverbial "fearless leader" that they might be hoping for. If anything, every time danger surfaced, all he could feel was a mixture of fear and anxiety, an adrenaline rush that somehow seemed to impel him through whatever he came up against. But he had to try and keep it together, for the sake of the others, if not for himself.

He thought of Yuffie, and the scene between the two of them earlier. It was true that they had always been good friends before, but they were steadily growing closer now, and things were changing. Things were undeniably different between the two of them. Maybe something had always been there, maybe not. Or maybe he was simply reading too deeply into everything. He didn't know. He didn't want to think about it, or anything for that matter. All he wanted now was a good night's sleep, and to let go of all his worries and concerns for a few moments..

As he passed the meeting room on his way back to his quarters, a chilling, cold voice, little more than a whisper suddenly spoke, breaking into his thoughts.

_"You're going to die out there.."_

Cloud stopped. Not turning around, he tilted his head slightly in the direction the voice had come from. And there it was. He could just barely see it in the corner of his eye. The faint silhouette of a person standing in the doorway behind him. He didn't need to see any more than that. He knew exactly what was there..

It was him...

_Sephiroth_

A wraith. A shadow, stalking him. Cloud tensed up. He could sense the presence growing stronger. He could feel its seething anger, its unbridled hate towards him.

Could see the long, bloodied katana clutched tightly in its hand..

_"You're going to die... and rot.."_

"Go away." Cloud whispered, closing his eyes and clenching his fists. "You're not real.."

_"..as are all of your friends."_ the voice continued, full of malice and hate. Cloud waited tensely for a moment, before opening his eyes again, turning around to face the apparition. But it was gone..

Cloud let out a terse breath. These occurrences were nothing new to him, but somehow the experience had felt _stronger_ this time, as if they were slowly growing more powerful, becoming real.. The presence had seemed... _closer_, almost palpable... as if reaching inside the borders of reality..

_"I'm slowly going insane."_ Cloud thought. _"One day I'm going to wake up in a padded cell, wearing a strait-jacket.."_

He sighed, shaking off these unpleasant thoughts, and headed for his room. But the encounter had left him disquieted and disturbed. Sleep would not come easy for him that night..

* * *

The Highwind hovered above Ajit, the early morning sunlight reflecting sharply off its polished metal surfaces. A set of cables hung from the belly of the ship, lowering the dune buggy from the airship's cargo bay. The buggy slowly sank down between the multitude of naturally formed pathways, down to the crevice where the gate was located. Cid stood on top of the buggy, holding onto one of the thick steel cables for balance, controlling the vehicle's descent, while Reeve sat inside. 

"All right, give it some more slack!" Reeve's voice came over the radio attached to the pilot's belt.

"Roger!" Cid yelled back into the radio, continuing to lower the buggy.

The others were already on the ground, waiting for the buggy to arrive. Four thick and heavy mooring lines fastened near the gateway held the airship in place. The Avalanche crew had decided to leave the ship floating on autopilot while they left on their first excursion through the gate.

Cloud and Yuffie stood close to each other, watching as the buggy, along with the last of their supplies, descended to the ground. Cloud glanced over at the girl next to him yet again. Recently, he found that he couldn't help himself. Whether it was her short, raven black hair billowing in the wind from the airship's downdraft, the tiny freckles on the sides of her face, or her stunning, ashen eyes, he could barely stop himself from looking at her.

_"She is beautiful." _he thought. Then he tore his gaze away, shaking his head slightly. He reprimanded himself mentally for getting off track._ "Focus, Cloud, focus. You don't have time for this.."_

_"You never did before, either..."_ another part of his psyche told him sardonically._ Look where that got you."_

_"This is stupid._" Cloud thought, irritated. _"I'm not going to argue with myself. I have a job to do."_

He and the others gathered around the dune buggy as it touched the ground. The buggy's engine roared into life as Reeve turned the key in the ignition.

"We all set?" Cloud asked Cid as the pilot jumped down off the buggy.

"Yeah, we're good to go." Cid replied simply.

_"All right. Time to play hero.." _Cloud thought, leading the others up to the gate.

"This is it." he announced solemnly. "We're heading out into the unknown. Right now, we have very little idea of what we're up against. And not knowing means that there's a chance we may not come back alive." he paused. "So... anyone who wants to back out, now's the time to do it."

He regarded the group standing before him. The look of determination on their faces told him that the thought of staying behind hadn't even crossed anyone's mind.

"Anyone?" he asked, just in case.

"Hey, man. You know how it goes." Barret replied. "We're with you all the way."

Cloud nodded, a small smile on his face. He turned to face the gate, along with the others. "All right." he said, motioning for the others to follow him. "Let's mosey."

Cid poked at Barret. "He does that just to get on my nerves, you know." the pilot said. Barret simply chuckled, as they walked inside the gate..

* * *

They stepped out of the vortex, one by one. As they did so, all they could do was stand there and stare in sheer, quiet awe of the sight before them. The impossibly vast city was almost too much to take in.. as was the extent of its apparent destruction... 

Tifa simply gasped in awe. Cid muttered a string of incoherent cuss-words, as did Barret. One way or another, all of them reacted strongly to the vision that they now beheld. Cloud and Yuffie had, of course, seen it before, so their initial reaction this time was not so great as that of the others, but now that the city was visible in broad daylight, rather the obscurity of darkness, they still could not help but be impressed, and yet also apprehensive. The damage done here was cataclysmic. And they knew that it was certainly not done by the passage of time..

They waited momentarily for the others to regain their composure. As they all finally did so, the red buggy arrived through the gates at last, being driven by Reeve. Nanaki paced around the gate, examining it, comparing it to the one they had just stepped through.

"Hmmm.." the red-maned beast growled.

"What is it?" Cloud asked, walking over next to his four-legged companion.

"Strange. I didn't notice _this_ before.." Nanaki muttered, peering at the side of the gate, where several multicolored orbs had been set, reaching out across to the other side. "No... I'm certain this wasn't emplaced on the other gate."

"What is it?" Yuffie asked curiously, wandering over.

"...I think it's materia." Nanaki explained.

"Materia?" Yuffie perked up at the mention of the word, unable to conceal her enthusiasm, her eyes widening with interest. She rushed over to where Nanaki was facing one of the many orbs set into the gate, reaching out to touch one.

"No, Yuffie! Don't touch..."

The gate suddenly went dead. The swirl of energy dissipated almost immediately, and all that was left was a semi-circular archway, seemingly no more than a mere decoration in the center of the city square.

"..that.." Nanaki finished limply.

The young ninja girl looked up at the others. She was receiving the worst death glares she had ever seen in her life.

"Um, oops?" she offered weakly.

* * *

**Author's notes:**

A few things I wanted to mention here. I guess I'll tackle these things as they come to me, so you'll have to forgive me if it starts to sound like I'm rambling. First off, yes, Cid's ship is indeed going to endure some extreme punishment in this story. This is just the beginning.

Now, as I do not believe in taking credit for other people's work, and since no-one has apparently guessed it yet, I figure that this would be a good time to explain the "lyrical concept" that I had in mind when I began writing this story. One reviewer recently mentioned that they liked the poetry at the beginning of each chapter. Well, I'm glad that they do, but none of it is mine. To put it simply, they're all song lyrics, filched from here and there. I thought it would be neat to give each chapter a certain "theme", or simply to use a few lines at the beginning to set the mood for each time, so I decided to take snippets of song lyrics that I found appropriate (quoting all of the lyrics would take up too much space, so therefore I just borrow a few lines every time). Often, the songs themselves will fit the mood or events of the chapter quite well, and it all flows from there, since music is my muse, essentially.

As an example, I was originally going to reference Opeth's "Master's Apprentices" or "By The Pain I See In Others", but he lyrics didn't really fit what was happening in this chapter. The opening lines of "Wreath", on the other hand, seemed like a perfect match, so I went with that instead, since I was listening to their "Deliverance" album a lot while writing this chapter, anyway. For the "Clouffie scene" in the middle, I went with Porcupine Tree's "buying a new soul". Although the lyrics of that don't really have much to do with romantic liaisons, the music itself seems to fit eerily well. (Or it just helps me get on with writing. I don't know). Then I switched to the Silent Hill soundtrack for the "wraith" bit. You get the idea.

I've quoted nine songs so far (chapter 7 didn't have a quote, as it was originally meant to be a part of chapter 8). If anyone names all the songs I've quoted so far correctly, I'll allow them to write a couple of paragraphs to be included in the story, or something to that effect. Go ahead and google the lyrics, if you like. Some of them might be a bit obscure. Note: I've already mentioned two of the songs I've quoted in this round of author's gab.

I also wanted to mention a thing or two about the fight scenes. It might seem as though the characters might be slightly "weakened", as in they're not performing superhuman feats, as in Advent Children, but it's all done in an attempt to make the fights carry slightly more weight. Unlike AC, for example, where things like gravity become a minor inconvenience, there's no quarter here. Yes, these are powerful characters to be sure, but they are not _invincible_ by any means. Fight scenes just don't seem as exciting when it feels as though no-one can really get hurt, don't you find?

Well, that's it for now. Stay tuned. More Empire goodness coming soon

Edit: I just noticed that I'd forgotten a word in parentheses, a leftover from the editing proccess. I've replaced the chapter file, and I've decided to take a quick gander at the other chapters as well to see if I fed up anywhere else as well.


	11. Ashes And Ghosts

_please remedy my confusion  
and thrust me back to the day  
the silence of your seclusion  
brings night into all you say_

_I'm counting nocturnal hours  
drowned visions in haunted sleep  
faint flickering of your powers  
leaks out to show what you keep_

_pull me down again  
and guide me into pain_

_spiralling to the ground below  
like autumn leaves left in the wake  
to fade away_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 11  
Ashes And Ghosts**

* * *

"I didn't touch it, I swear!" Yuffie shouted back. 

The young ninja girl was engaged in a heated argument with several of the other Avalanche members, most prominently with Nanaki, who seemed uncharacteristically antagonized by what had just occurred.

"Don't lie to us! We all saw you grab that materia!" The crimson beast growled back at her. The others joined in, assailing the young girl with a barrage of angry words and harsh remarks.

"What were you_ thinking_?"

"Always messin' with things you shouldn't.."

"Once a thief, always a thief!"

"Goddamn shit-for-brains little kid!"

_"That's enough!"_ Cloud shouted angrily, interrupting them. The others quieted down immediately, looking over at the group's leader. It wasn't often that the blond swordsman raised his voice, but when he did, others _listened_.

"I believe her." Cloud said, looking critically at the others. Nanaki grumbled, but said nothing else. The red-maned beast walked off, pacing around the gate again.

Cloud looked over at Yuffie. She was red-faced and close to tears, frustrated at being treated like a child. "I was reaching out to touch them.." she explained dejectedly, eyes lowered to the ground. "...but the gate went dead before I could get a chance... ok?"

"So what, then?" Reeve asked. "Why would the gate just shut down like that?"

Tifa shook her head. "It could have happened for any number of reasons." she replied sullenly, breaking off from the rest of the group.

"Look, let's just calm down." Cloud said, trying to bring some clarity and control back to the group. "We've gotten out of tighter spots than this one."

"What, being stranded on an alien world, you mean?" Cid replied sarcastically.

Cloud shot the pilot a look, but didn't reply. He turned his attention to Nanaki. "Red, how long has it been since the gate started working?" he asked.

Nanaki walked back over to the rest of the group and sat down. The half-lion pondered the question for a moment, before replying. "About forty-eight hours, I think.." he estimated. "Come to think of it, right now it would be just around two days exactly since it became fully active." he stated. He looked up at the others, realizing what Cloud was getting at.

"Some sort of timer, you think?" Reeve asked.

Nanaki lowered his gaze to the ground, considering this new idea. "It _is_ possible that that the gate will only remain active for a certain amount of time.." he replied. "Something projecting this kind of energy would almost certainly be an incredible drain on the planet's lifestream.." he muttered, mostly to himself, trailing off.

"But the real question is, how do we activate it again?" Vincent pointed out.

Cloud looked over at the rest of the group, crossing his arms. "For now, let's assume we're stuck here." he replied. "We'll have to deal with this situation as it plays out."

He tilted his head to one side, quickly doing an inventory in his head. "We've got some provisions in the buggy. They'll keep us going for a few days, at least." he said. He turned his attention towards Cid, who was lighting up a fresh cigarette. "Cid, what about the Highwind?" Cloud asked. "Is it going to be a problem, leaving it like that?"

"Nah, put it in standby mode, that thing'll stay airborne for a couple o' months, at least. Wear and tear notwithstanding, of course." Cid replied nonchalantly. "Right now, I'm more worried about it being _stolen_ than running out of fuel an' crashing."

"All right, so no immediate worries." Cloud surmised. "But we're going to have to find a way back sooner rather than later."

"Well, it ain't gonna do us no good jes' standing around here yakkin' an' freezin' our butts off." Barret complained.

"Yeah, I mean, since we're here, we might as well go off and explore for a bit." Reeve said. "That's what we came here to do anyway, right?"

Cloud nodded. "We'd better do a quick scouting trip on foot, first. Then we'll come back here and form some kind of plan. No sense in wasting the buggy's fuel just yet."

There was a general murmur of agreement amongst the group. "All right. Let's go see the sights." Tifa said.

"Who knows, maybe we'll find some way to turn this thing on again." Yuffie said hopefully, motioning towards the gate as the others began to head out.

"Yeah, and maybe we'll find a fuckin' all-you-can-eat restaurant out here, too." Cid remarked sarcastically, as they began to wander down the desolate streets of the ancient city..

* * *

No matter how hard they tried not to think about it, the sheer vastness of the fallen city, and the extent of its ruin weighed heavily on everyone's minds. The trail of demolished buildings seemed to go on forever, and the signs of destruction were everywhere. Thousands of small craters lined the scarred earth, filled with debris from the surrounding wreckage. Though some still remained, most of the buildings surrounding the wandering group had long been reduced to ashes, the mark of some apocalyptic event that had taken place ages ago. 

The buildings that remained consisted of the familiar sight of coral-reef structures, similar to those of Ajit, mingled with other, more symmetrical constructions. Small buildings sat next to former skyscrapers, whose hollowed remains still reached for the heavens. Statues, monuments and pillars stood scattered everywhere, some still intact, but most destroyed or in advanced states of decay, slowly falling apart as the centuries crawled on.

They all kept wondering what could have caused such devastation, short of a full-scale war. But what they found most disturbing about the place was the _stillness_. Aside from themselves, there was no discernable movement. No sounds to be heard. No stray animals wandering around in the vicinity. No birds in the sky. No people. Nothing.

Absolutely _nothing_..

The sight continued to instill fear and awe into the group as it moved quietly through the city's empty streets. Even Cid, whose extensive vocabulary of colorful language would usually allow him to make some crude appraisal of the situation, was unusually silent, carefully taking in his surroundings along with the rest of the group.

"The architecture is unmistakably of Cetra origin," Nanaki remarked as they passed through the empty streets of the city, stealing the others' attention momentarily. "but.. this looks different, somehow. _Older_."

As they walked on, they noticed several statues placed here and there, marking the entrances to the inner areas of the city, as if the praetorians of a bygone era. The statues resembled child-like angels, holding out one hand, a sad expression etched on their stone faces. The few beams of sunlight filtering through the thick clouds in the sky shrouded the statues in pale halos of light, catching small particles of dust as they swept through the air, lending the motionless angels an eerie, life-like quality..

"Ajit looks like a colony compared to this." Nanaki spoke up again, observing his surroundings enthusiastically. "This is more like..."

"..A homeworld." Vincent finished for him. Nanaki purred slightly in reply, but said nothing else.

"Where are we heading, anyway?" Reeve asked.

"Yeah, I was wonderin' about that, too." Barret said. "There's nothing but dust out here, far as I can see.."

"Wait, what's that?" Tifa asked, pointing in the direction ahead.

Looking in the direction that she was pointing, the others spotted what she was referring to. From where they stood, they could just barely make out a large building in the distance that, unlike any of the others around them, reflected the light of the sun back away from it, illuminating its surrounding area, as if it were made of glass... or crystal.

"What _is_ that?" Reeve said. "Some sort of palace?"

"Whatever it is, it's still largely intact." Nanaki remarked. "And it's clearly an important landmark of the city."

"Let's go check it out." Cid said. With no objections voiced, the group altered its course slightly, heading towards this new discovery.

Cloud, noticing that Yuffie was keeping a short distance away from the rest of the group, moved up next to the young ninja girl. "Hey, you ok?" he asked.

Yuffie sniffled slightly, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "..Yeah." she replied sullenly.

"Look... I know you didn't.." Cloud began.

"I've messed everything up, haven't I?" Yuffie cut him off, still not meeting his gaze.

"It's not your fault." Cloud replied in a reassuring tone of voice, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And we'll find a way back." he assured her. "I promise."

She looked up at him, smiling. It was a faint smile at best, but he could tell that she was at least feeling a little better. She brushed away a couple of stray strands of hair from her eyes, looking up at him again, more directly this time.

"Um.. about last night.." she began.

"Hey, Cloud. I've gotta ask you something." Cid said, tapping on Cloud's shoulder, cutting off their conversation.

"What is it?" Cloud asked, sounding slightly irritated at the interruption.

"When those things came at us through the gate.. just before that happened, you said 'something's coming'." Cid meandered verbally. "How'd you _know_?" The pilot asked.

The others, noticing their conversation, turned their attention to Cloud as well, waiting for his answer. Cloud thought about Cid's question for a moment. "..I really don't know." he finally replied, shrugging. "All I know is... I could _feel_ it."

The others waited for him to elaborate. Cloud sighed. "I haven't felt anything like that since.." he paused. "...well, in a long time, anyway." He finished abruptly.

The truth was, he hadn't experienced a feeling quite like that since the whole Meteor incident. He clearly remembered having the same feeling of discomfort whenever he had been in the presence of Jenova. As time wore on, he had almost forgotten what it was like. But now it felt as though something were slowly awakening inside of him again, in the presence of their new enemy. And he didn't like that feeling one bit..

"Well, maybe we'll know for sure what it is if we meet more of them out here." Yuffie remarked.

"Actually, I have a hypothesis regarding that." Nanaki spoke up, walking up next to them.

"Which is?" Vincent asked laconically.

"As you know, one of the astonishing properties of Jenova cells is that they will do whatever they possibly can to keep their host body alive, in the interest of self-preservation. This in turn grants a given host's body incredible regenerative abilities." Nanaki began. "Another one is their adaptability towards different species, as well as their ability to mutate rapidly." The red-maned beast continued. "And the third and most fundamental one is their behaviour towards one another, when they are displaced. When separated, these cells will intrinsically be drawn back towards each other, such as when an appendage is severed, for example. You all remember the events that took place at the Northern Crater, I trust. The so-called 'Reunion'.."

"Are you going somewhere with this?" Cid asked impatiently.

Nanaki ignored the comment, eyeing Cloud critically. "What you're experiencing is most likely some kind of "cell resonance". The Jenova cells inside your body and those of the other beings infected with them are "calling out" to each other, if you will, in an attempt to reconnect."

"You mean this will happen every time something contaminated with Jenova cells comes near him?" Reeve asked, pointing at Cloud.

"Seems like it." Nanaki answered.

"So we've got an early warning system, huh? Cid remarked sarcastically. "That's good to know."

Cloud resisted the temptation to roll his eyes, and simply kept on walking.

"What do we call those damn things anyway?" Barret asked.

"Those monsters that attacked us?" Tifa replied.

"Yeah, I mean, we gotta call'em _something_." Barret said.

Tifa thought about this for a moment. "Greys." she said simply.

"Greys?" Reeve repeated, uncertain.

"Yeah, they're not quite black, so 'greys' seems about right." Tifa explained. "Besides, it's short."

"Works for me." Cid replied.

They walked on for a short while, after deciding on the new name of their new foes. The skyline grew murkier as they progressed further inside the city, as black rain-clouds slowly gathered in the skies above them.

"It's getting dark.." Tifa pointed out.

"And damp." Yuffie added, as the first drops of rain fell on top of her head. She looked up at the sky, catching a few more droplets in the palm of her hand. It was quite clear that they were just a small portent of things to come, as the sky was quickly turning black, and the last rays of sunlight were fast fading from sight..

Vincent spoke up suddenly. "Verily, shadows do gather 'round us, obscuring the paths we trace, forged so long ago. We must tread lightly, as we walk through the ashes of empires, so as not to disturb the ghosts of the past.."

Tifa glanced over at her fiancé, a bemused expression on her face. "Poetic." she replied. "What _was_ that?"

Vincent made a dismissive motion with his claw hand, shaking his head slightly. "Nothing. A book I once read.."

The others looked as though they were about to comment further on the gunman's habit of making obscure quotations for no apparent reason, when the rain started pouring down on them heavily.

"We can't stay out here in the rain." Reeve said. "We'll get drenched."

Cloud sighed. "All right, we'll take shelter in one of these buildings.."

The blond swordsman motioned them towards the nearest building. There were no objections to be heard from the rest of the group, who were already getting cold, as well as lightly soaked..

* * *

They headed into one of the buildings that still seemed reasonably stable, hoping that it wouldn't come crashing down over their heads the minute they entered. The air inside felt heavy and cold, and the place itself emanated a brooding aura, one of emptiness and loss. 

"Let's see if we can't get a better view from up here." Cloud said, motioning upwards.

The building itself was quite tall, reaching more than a dozen floors upwards. A hollow wind echoed off the coral walls of the building, creating a ghostly wail that echoed through the stairwell as they ascended the steps of the spiral staircase. Finally, they reached the top, some fourteen floors up.

One side of the wall had almost completely collapsed away, along with a section of the floor, leaving a large gap where the front of the building should have been. The gaps and tears in the walls let the wind in, causing the Avalanchers to shiver from the cold. But at least they were dry for the time being. The group spread out across the floor of the dilapidated building, settling down to get some rest, trying to stay warm.

Barret sat with his back against one of the walls, tinkering with his gun-arm, leaving tiny screws and bits of metal laying scattered on the floor around him. Cid leaned up against one of the pillars in the room, resting his spear under his arm, rolling up a fresh cigarette. Tifa and Vincent sat together in one corner of the room, comfortably huddled together under Vincent's cape. The pair seemed to be in a world of their own, only vaguely aware of the others around them. Cloud, meanwhile, walked over to the rift in the wall, taking in the view of the city from their new vantage point.

Yuffie, Nanaki and Reeve sat in the middle of the floor. They had put together some tinder from their back-packs, and were now trying to start up a fire. Reeve sat in front of their makeshift fire ring, holding up a red orb. Yuffie sighed. Having already attempted once to light their kindling, without much success, the young ninja girl sat cross-legged on the floor, playing marbles half-heartedly with her materia.

"It's strange.." Reeve said. "It feels so weak." Try as he might, he couldn't get the fire materia in his hands to produce more than a small flicker of flame.

"I believe there is a rational explanation for that." Nanaki spoke up. "It seems as though this planet's lifestream has been severely drained." The crimson beast hypothesized, tilting his head on to one side. "It won't conduct well to the use of materia. I doubt we can use any of it here."

"Not even curative materia?" Tifa asked, looking up.

Nanaki shook his head. "I'm afraid not." he replied.

Cid, who was lighting up his newly-made cigarette, glanced up. "Great, so we're back to the fucking stone age." he commented.

Nanaki grumbled. "Let's put it this way." he said. "We'll have be more careful to avoid injuries than we have been."

Cloud stood at the crumbling edge of the building, arms crossed, looking out towards the horizon, as the rain kept on falling. Yuffie looked out over at him. He seemed more focused now than he had been in the last couple of days. _Sharper_ somehow, as if the events of the past few days had awoken him from some deep slumber. She wasn't sure if she liked him better this way, though. Whenever he became focused on something like this, he also became distant somehow, cold and detached..

"There's something there.." Cloud said suddenly.

"What?" Cid asked, walking over next to him.

"Look.." Cloud pointed into the distance. "There's something moving down there.."

Cid looked out into the dusk outside, straining his eyes to see. In the murkiness below, he could just barely make out several figures moving about. He looked back over at Cloud, who was eyeing the pilot intently. The rest of the group gathered around them, trying to see as well. There was something moving around down there, all right..

"Let's go." Cloud said, looking over at the others, heading towards the stairs. The others snapped up their weapons and equipment, following him back outside.

* * *

The group quickly exited the building, weapons in hand, heading in the direction in which they had spotted the roaming figures. The rain had subsided from a heavy downpour into a light drizzle, but the sun had sunk completely below the horizon, making it difficult to see much beyond the few buildings surrounding the group. 

"It's them." Cloud said to the others.

"You feelin' something?" Cid asked. Cloud nodded, but said nothing more.

As they walked on, they reached a large crater filled with debris, in which a lone figure stood still near the bottom. The Avalanchers moved down into the crater, carefully approaching the figure, which was slowly coming into view.

The wolf-like grey turned around, snarling as it spotted its pursuers. More greys appeared along the rim of the crater as the Avalanchers brandished their weapons, preparing to take on the monsters encircling them.

The greys poured over the crater's rim, rushing towards the group of humans in their midst. Their attack was met with a flurry of steel as sword, spear and shuriken carved their way through the approaching beasts. Vincent, Barret and Reeve drew their guns and fired away relentlessly at their attackers, creating a hail of bullets, killing numerous greys before they could even reach their prey.

Nanaki pounced one of the beasts, taking it by surprise, sinking his fangs into its neck, tearing out its jugular. The animal below him quickly went limp, as he released his grip and moved onto the next one. Tifa narrowly dodged an incoming attack by one of the beasts, then stopped a second one cold as two of the greys leapt at her simultaneously. Thinking fast and acting even faster, she grabbed each of their heads in mid-air, smashing their skulls together, shattering them instantly.

The Avalanchers wore through their attackers quickly and confidently. Having fought these beasts before, they knew better what to expect from them. But as they fell, more greys kept coming, trailing across the rim of the crater, replacing the ones they had just killed. They were simply becoming too many for them to handle..

"We're surrounded!" Tifa called.

The group stood huddled in a circle at the bottom of the crater, weapons held outward, fending off their attackers as best they could.

"There's too many of them!" someone shouted from the other side of the group.

Cloud cursed under his breath, his well-worn buster sword pointed out towards the approaching greys, There was nowhere they could escape to from here. All they could do was hold their ground..

Suddenly, the greys simply ceased their attack. The sable beasts stood still, watching their prey intently.

The Avalanchers stopped as well, realizing that their assailants were holding off. Then they noticed it. The faint hints of ragged breathing, that of a much larger creature, looming over the bloodied battlefield that the crater had become. They could barely believe their eyes as the imposing being descending into the crater.

Cloud's heart froze when he saw it. There was no mistaking the blackened shape before them. The grotesque, deformed half-wings rising from its back, the tentacles spiralling from its body in every direction, the protracted face, forever contorted into a perpetual, insane death-grin..

_...Jenova._

Nightmarish visions of the horrific experiments he had endured six years ago flashed across his vision, the agonizing moments spent submerged in the suspension chamber, hours upon hours of extreme shock treatment, the drugs being pumped into his veins to keep him sedate...

...The moment of his infection with the Jenova cells.

_A sharp pain shot throughout his veins as the parasite entered his body. "A gift from God... you should be thankful." The pale-faced scientist's words echoed throughout the room, as he withdrew the needle.._

The pressure inside of his head was agonizing, overwhelming, feeling as if thousands of needles were being pressed into his skull all at once. The pain was too much to bear, causing him to fall to his knees.

_The pain subsided. He was back inside the suspension tank, surrounded by the cold, viridian liquid._

_Shadowy figures stood on the other side of the tank, clipboards in hand, dispassionately observing him. They had no faces. Their voices were nothing but distorted nonsense._

_Despite being submerged, he could still breathe. There was no motion inside the chamber, except for the gentle swell of the liquid surrounding his prone body. Try as he might, he couldn't move an inch.._

In the back of his mind, he thought he could almost detect a faint noise, just outside the range of hearing.

"..."

_The figures were gone. The solution he was suspended in was slowly becoming murkier, as another liquid seeped in from below._

_It was blood. His blood.. seeping in, but from where? He couldn't move. It was getting harder to breathe.._

The noise was getting louder..

"...oud."

As if someone were calling to him from far away..

_The blood plasma filled the tank. There was only the red now. He was suffocating._

"Cloud!" Yuffie's voice came, loud and sharp, bringing him back to the present. He could feel someone's hand on his shoulder. The blood washed away from his vision, and he could see clearly again.

He looked up to see the Jenova being, its massive black body towering over him and the others. The alien being remained still, studying the group of people before it. It had not yet made any move to attack them, it seemed..

Cloud drew in a lungful of air. The feeling of discomfort he had felt earlier was stronger now, much stronger, nearly overpowering. But he could move again. He quickly reached out for his sword, hefting it again, his hands trembling ever so slightly as he rose unsteadily back to his feet.

The greys backed away, retreating behind the tall Jenova creature, as if being ordered back by it. The animals reluctantly abandoned the crater, leaving just the Avalanchers and it. The Jenova being smiled grimly at them, its feelers and tentacles unwinding as it arched forward, preparing to attack..

"C'mon! We can take it!" Cid shouted, readying his spear, charging towards the alien being. The others followed, brandishing their weapons, skillfully evading the hefty being's attacks as they rushed it.

Even with the odds of eight to one, the Jenova creature was no easy opponent, proving much more difficult to handle than the greys. Reeve and Tifa failed to react in time as it made a hard sweep with one of its large feelers, knocking them down to the ground. Yuffie barely managed to dodge out of the way as it blasted out a stream of toxic plasma though the vesicles in its face. Cloud sliced through one of its tentacles as it lashed out against him, but was struck by another, its epidermal needles tearing away at his flesh as it grazed his upper arm.

As they fought the Jenova creature, striking and firing away, doing their best to avoid its counterattacks, they saw something that made them all stop dead in their tracks..

_Another_ Jenova being, identical to the one they were fighting, sidled up next to it.

And then a_ third_ one, closing up behind them..

"Holy fucking hell.." Cid muttered, looking around to see the group surrounded by the three enormous beings.

"It's an army.." Reeve breathed in sheer disbelief at the sight, as the Jenova beings began to move in closer..

_"We have to get out of here.." _Cloud thought. _"There's no way we can take them all at once. Not here."_

"Split up! Get out of here!" he called to the others. Following his order, the Avalanchers quickly split into three groups, each heading in their own direction. Cloud, Yuffie and Nanaki ran up between the two Jenovas right in front of the group, narrowly dodging their attacks as they rushed back out of the crater. Cid, Barret and Reeve took to the right, while Vincent and Tifa ran left, hand in hand.

The three groups joined up again as they emerged from the crater, with the three Jenova beings in tow. Cloud lead the group into a narrow alley between two skyscrapers. The group ran quickly through the narrow space, emerging in a street block of wartorn buildings.

Heading down the street, Cloud looked for a place for them to hide. "In here!" he called, motioning towards a set of buildings adjacent to them on either side. The front sides of the buildings had been gouged away long ago, but parts of the walls remained, just large enough for a small group to hide behind. The group split up again, with Cloud, Cid, Barret and Reeve entering the building on the left side, and the rest of the group taking the wall on the other side.

"Stay down." Cloud told the others. He winced as he placed his right hand over his left upper arm, examining the wound there. It didn't look too bad, he decided, and in any case, it would have to wait..

He peered carefully over the wall of the building behind which he and the others were hiding. One of the Jenova beings had followed them. The large creature sidled casually through the street, in search of its prey.

Cloud sighed, closing his eyes, leaning heavily against the stone wall. The thought kept playing in his mind, over and over again, as they hid._ "An army. A Jenova army.."_

Then he heard something. A child's voice, calling from the streets. His eyes snapped open. He quickly peered over the wall again to see what it was. A small girl, clad in tattered white robes, was wandering the streets, calling out what sounded like someone's name..

"What the.." he breathed. Cid, Barret and Reeve looked up over the wall to see what he was staring at. Cloud saw that the group in the other building had noticed the girl as well, and they seemed just as confused by the situation.

"What the hell?" Cid cursed. "What's that kid doing there? Is she crazy?"

Cloud scanned the rest of the area quickly. The Jenova creature stood at the far end of the street, its back turned to them for the moment.

_"It's going to spot her.."_ Cloud thought. _"And then.."_

Cloud saw the hulking creature began to slowly turn around. Without a second thought, he made his move..

"Hey, where the hell are you going?" Cid shouted, as the blond swordsman climbed back up out of their hiding place, running towards the wayward child in the street. He quickly snatched the little girl up in his arms, narrowly dodging into the other group's hiding place in the opposite building just as the Jenova creature cast its gaze in their direction.

Cloud sat next to the others, the little girl held firmly in his arms. The group waited tensely, collectively holding their breath as the Jenova sauntered up to their hiding place. They could hear the creature's ragged breathing as it prodded the building inquisitively with its feelers, leaning further down to examine the area..

The Jenova creature waited for a moment, inspecting the outside of the building. Then, seemingly satisfied, it began to move away. Cloud breathed a heavy sigh of relief, leaning against the wall, completely drained. It hadn't seen them..

Tired as he was, it took him a moment to notice that the little girl had escaped from his grip, and was now sitting between him and the others. Yuffie, Vincent, Tifa and Nanaki all stared at the child with a look of curiosity.

She had clear, blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair, tied up into simple wind braids at the back. She was dressed in a tattered and dirty white robe, and simple brown shoes. The girl whispered something to them, speaking in a language that they could not understand or recognize. The words sounded fluid, yet hard, as if those of an ancient tongue.

A moment passed before the realization dawned upon them...

...they were face to face with a living, breathing Cetra.

* * *

"What the hell was that all about?" Cid asked, peering over the wall behind which he and his group hid. 

"Uh... Cid?" Reeve spoke up, tapping the pilot's shoulder. Cid turned his attention towards him, followed by what he was looking up at..

The other two Jenovas stood before them, having followed the first one into the street.

"Oh, fuck." Cid breathed.

The four of them got up and ran away as the two creatures began to attack their hiding place, smashing up the building, sending the walls around them crumbling down. They rushed out of the building just in time to escape certain death from the falling enclosures.

"Damnit!" Cid cursed, seeing that they had been cut off from the other group. "We have to get out of here!"

"What about the others?" Barret asked.

"We have to go back and look for them." Reeve said.

"Not now, goddamnit!" Cid replied, as they kept running down the empty street. "They'll have to take care of themselves." he added irritably. He would rather not leave his friends behind, now that it was pitch-black outside, and certainly not with those _things_ wandering around, but he knew that they would probably stand a better chance of escaping in smaller groups rather than a single large one.

With that in mind, he and the others kept going more or less blindly in the same direction they had taken during their escape.

* * *

The three Jenovas had gathered in the street, examining the wreckage of the building they had just demolished. On the other side of the street, the remaining Avalanchers waited tensely as the three beings slithered past them, making to leave again. As they headed back out towards the far side of the street, one of them paused, turning around. It moved back up to the wall that just barely kept the group of six hidden, peering inside the building. It halted all of its movement suddenly, waiting. The other two Jenovas in the street turned around as well.. 

_"They've spotted us.." _Cloud thought.

"Run." he whispered, looking over at the others. "_now._"

The others scrambled to their feet, rushing out of the building. Cloud got up to his feet, taking the little girl's hand and pulling her away just in time as the three Jenovas ground the foundational walls of the building into dust, sending the floor above them crashing down over their heads. They narrowly dodged out of the building just in time, within inches of being crushed by the collapsing floor.

Outside, the Jenova creatures gave chase to the group, moving surprisingly quickly for their size. Cloud quickly hoisted the little girl into a piggyback position, breaking into a run as he caught up with the others.

The Jenovas chased the group to the outskirts of the area. The city streets gradually gave way to an empty valley, cordoned off by a steep cliff wall. Despair filled the group as they realized that there was nowhere else to run. Their backs were against the wall. The three Jenova creatures had them surrounded, and they were closing in, moving more slowly now, as if taking some perverse pleasure in their hunt..

Vincent loaded his rifle, firing away at the three Jenovas, severing their appendages and wounding them. Cloud drew his pistol, and fired away as well. Yuffie joined them, having thrown her shuriken, she fired away with her magnum pistol, getting jarred back violently, unused to her weapon's heavy recoil. But it wasn't enough. They needed someone else to back them up..

"Tifa, where's your gun?" Cloud called, reloading his weapon.

"I..." Tifa hesitated, realizing that she had left it behind on the airship.

"Damnit.." Cloud cursed, holstering his gun as the Jenova creatures drew nearer. He unsheathed his sword, preparing to do his best to protect the little girl behind him as the three alien beings made to attack the group.

Suddenly, a voice called out above them. Before they knew what had occurred, a figure clad in white descended in front of them, jumping from the cliff. The figure landed in between them and the Jenova creatures, sinking its staff into the ground below. The ground cracked as the staff smashed into it and, in the blink of an eye, a wall of flame rose from the earth, circling the group, scorching the Jenova beings, slowly burning them alive. Despite the flames, they made no sign that they were in any pain, or fazed by this attack in the slightest. They kept on walking through the fire, closing in on their prey..

...before finally collapsing to the ground. The death-grins on their faces the last thing that remained, as their charred bodies crackled and boiled, turning into ashes.

The intensity of the flames gradually subsided, and the walls of flame surrounding the group faded away. The figure in white, an old man, stood up again briefly, before collapsing against his staff, exhausted from the effort. Cloud and Vincent rushed over to the older man to help him to its feet, but he pushed them away, shouting at them in the same language as they had heard the little girl speak earlier. The man stubbornly raised himself to his feet, refusing any help.

The Avalanchers regarded the man who had apparently just saved them. He looked to be in his late forties, and was clean-shaven, with short, grey hair and sharp features, despite his age. He wore similar robes to those of the little girl, although his seemed to have been taken slightly better care of. The man held a gilded staff in his right hand, adorned with what seemed to be a large piece of materia. All in all, the man exuded an aura of authority, even regality.

Examining the group that stood before him, he seemed to recognize the little girl among them. The girl walked out of the centre of the group and towards the old man. He spoke a few words to her in a tone of voice that hesitated somewhere between worry and anger. The girl replied to him with a few words, nodding.

He then turned his attention to the strangers facing him and the little girl, his expression stern. He spoke some more words to her in their language, eyeing the strangers before him warily. The girl replied to him again, sounding somewhat alarmed, as if he might do something if she did not explain the situation correctly. She spoke to the old man for a while, gesturing towards the Avalanchers, explaining something to the old man with simple, child-like gestures.

The man listened to her for a while, then walked up to Cloud, who stood at the front of the group. The older man appraised him and the others for a moment, before turning around, heading back inside the city. He gestured for them to follow him, without further words.

"Where are they taking us?" Yuffie whispered to Cloud.

"I don't know, but any place is better than here right now." Cloud replied.

"But what about the others?" Tifa asked, concerned.

"I'm sure they'll be all right." Cloud answered, hoping that he was right. "Let's stick with them for now" he replied, motioning towards the two Cetra.

* * *

Cid sighed loudly. 

"Well, shoot." he said, scratching the back of his head. "There's no way we're gettin' across this."

Cid, along with Barret and Reeve, stood opposite a river of black water. On the other side of the river lay the crystal structure they had seen earlier. But as of now, it was completely unreachable.

They had briefly considered swimming across, but the thought of getting even more wet than they already were had quickly nullified that idea. In addition, there was something about the river that struck them as being odd, the way it seemed to move much more slowly than water _should_. It looked oily and thick, and there seemed to be something moving underneath the surface, if it was not simply their imaginations playing with them.

Crossing the river was _definitely_ out of the question.

"Maybe we could inflate the buggy's tyres, use it as a raft?" Reeve suggested. Of course, he knew that meant going back to _fetch_ the buggy first.

"Nah..." Cid replied, looking out over the black, swelling mass, shaking his head. "We need wings."

"Well, we ain't about to grow those, if that's what ya mean." Barret replied grumpily. "I don't see no point in hangin' around here."

"All right then, first things first." Cid said. "We go back to the buggy an' wait. See if the others come back, or maybe if they're already there." he shrugged. "If not, we go out again an' look for'em when day breaks."

Barret and Reeve looked at each other, nodding, and followed the captain back towards the gate that had brought them to this world.

* * *

Cloud, Yuffie, Vincent, Tifa and Nanaki followed the two Cetra over to a block of buildings that still seemed relatively stable. The old man and the little girl headed inside one of the buildings, with the Avalanchers in tow. Inside the building, they headed down a long, fragmented staircase, moving down into the basement area. 

Down in the basement, the old man reached for a torch hanging from the wall next to the staircase, and motioned for the others to follow him. He moved over to the far wall, pushing a thick slab of rock out of the way, revealing a tunnel, leading further down..

Cloud and Yuffie looked at each other, as if to say, _"What choice do we have?"_

With no other clear alternatives, they and the others followed the two Cetra into the tunnel, heading further down into the cold earth..

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

This section should probably be called "author's excuses" from here on in. Anyway, last chapter I said "more stuff coming soon". Of course, by now you all know that by "coming soon", I mean "a month or two". First off, I've been insanely busy with coursework at my technical college, and haven't had much time to indulge in writing, fanworks or original. I guess that the somewhat lukewarm reception of the last chapter may have played some part in my lack of motivation to get this next one out. But here it is at last. It turned out a bit longer than I thought it would, actually.

The song this time is "The Drapery Falls" by Opeth. I wasn't really planning on going with another song by the same band so soon, but I found that the song's melancholy atmosphere fit the mood of this chapter perfectly.

Before anyone asks, Vincent's quote is not taken from any book that's been read anytime, anywhere, by anyone. I just made it up. Except for the "Through the ashes of empires bit". I totally ripped that off from Machine Head, as pointed out in the first chapter. And the image of the "angel statues". It's the album cover. Go look it up. And look up the songs quoted for each chapter while you're at it. They'll help understand the story better, I believe.

That's all for now. Love this story? Hate it? Just passing through? Leave a review at the beep. I will update again as soon as possible. (Hint: more reviews more motivation to for me write/update faster). Ta.


	12. De Profundis

_from out of the depths we have cried  
that our voices may be heard  
so long have we remained  
within this domain of lost souls  
awaiting absolution from our ancient sins  
release us from our imprisonment  
and lead us back into the light_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 12  
De Profundis**

* * *

What they found underneath the ruins was nothing less than an underground city, sprawling out before them as they finally emerged from the narrow tunnel. 

Torches lined the walls of the rock passage, lighting the way as the old man led the group further down into the city. The group followed him and the little girl closely as they moved deeper into the underground settlement which, as far as they could tell, had been painstakingly carved out of the rock formations around them.

Cloud, Yuffie, Nanaki, Tifa and Vincent all looked around cautiously, examining their new surroundings. The whole city consisted of crudely formed living spaces hewn into the dense rock formation, forming spartan living quarters for their inhabitants, most of whom were at the moment emerging from their dwellings, wondering who these new arrivals were.

Numerous people clad in tattered robes similar to those of their hosts watched the group of strangers carefully as they entered their underground abode. The whole situation was decidedly uncomfortable. They could feel the eyes of everyone there upon them. Their arrival was met with fearful glances and curious looks from the various Cetra survivors as they passed by. Children inquired their parents as to who these strangers were, or hid from them as they walked past. The occasional person reached carefully for something to defend themselves with, while others shut themselves off from the unusual procession entirely.

Amidst the throngs of people that they were passing, Cloud caught something odd out of the corner of his eye. In a recess of one of the rock walls a lone figure stood in the shadows, watching him intently. He stood there for a moment, transfixed, realizing how remarkably similar it looked to the one he'd seen aboard the Highwind last night. He couldn't make out more than just the bare silhouette of the figure, but it was clear to him what it was..

Another wraith watching him.

Sephiroth? No... the figure was undeniably similar in appearance, but smaller in frame, more feminine. It could only be..

_Her..._

"..."

The figure stared at him coldly with accusing eyes. He could feel her smouldering gaze burning into his own. She was slowly coming into focus, materializing as she prepared to step from the shadows..

"Cloud?" Tifa said, breaking into his thoughts.

"Huh?" the blond swordsman snapped out of his trance, looking back towards his friends, who were now a few steps ahead of him.

"You coming?" Tifa asked, eyeing her childhood friend with a look of concern.

Cloud blinked, taking a quick glance back towards the recess where he had spotted the figure. There was nothing there. "Uh..." he replied lamely, shaking his head. "..yeah. Sorry."

_"I must be tired.."_ the blond swordsman thought, rubbing the corner of his eye with a gloved hand. _"I'm starting to see things."_

The group continued walking down the myriad of passages that the city consisted of, until they arrived at a small group of people who appeared to be the little girl's parents or relatives. They accepted the girl with open arms, providing the old man with heartfelt thanks as they took her back into the group. The old man simply nodded, speaking a few words to them before turning away, gesturing for the Avalanchers to follow him.

After a few more minutes spent moving through the underground tunnels, the old man finally led them inside what appeared to be an underground cathedral.

Looking up, they realized that they had to be quite far underground by now, as the cavern's roof was raised high, carved out of the rock much like every other structure they had seen down there. They followed the old man down the cathedral's central corridor, flanked on either side by elaborately fashioned circular pillars and rock pews, as well as several seraphic statues, each one with its hands folded one on top of the other, small fires blazing in their upturned palms.

At the end of the corridor, a bowl-like pit was carved into the middle of the floor, a large fire blazing in its centre, providing light and warmth. Walking past the pit, the old man stopped just short of the massive doorways leading to the cathedral's inner sanctum. There, he finally turning to face the group again, waiting patiently for a moment, before calmly addressing them.

Not surprisingly, his words made no sense to anyone in the group. Nevertheless, Nanaki stepped forward, speaking a few strange-sounding words and syllables in reply. The old man looked at the red-maned beast for a second, before answering in a similar manner, their strange "conversation" going on for a few minutes.

"What are they doing?" Yuffie whispered, pointing at Nanaki and the old man.

"They're trying to communicate." Vincent replied, realizing what Nanaki was doing. "Probably trying to locate some common linguistic ground."

A few more minutes passed. The group waited uneasily as Nanaki and the old man exchanged "words". Finally, Nanaki walked back over to the rest of the group.

"I've done it." Nanaki said enthusiastically. "I believe that with my limited knowledge of the Cetra language, I can communicate somewhat." he looked down introspectively. "I've never heard it spoken before, aside from a few isolated words, but actually hearing it in _active_ use.."

"Can you interpret for us?" Cloud asked, cutting Nanaki off from his excited recount.

Nanaki looked up and nodded. "I will try."

"Okay," Cloud said. "ask him some general questions. Like who he is and where we are.."

"...and what the _hell_ is going on." Yuffie added.

Nanaki nodded, turning back to the old man. They spoke for a short while, before Nanaki returned again to his comrades. "He says his name is Sigil, and that he is the royal retainer to the Emperor, adjudicator and leader of the Cetra in Their Lord's absence." Nanaki explained. "I have introduced us, but we haven't gotten much farther than that.."

Cloud sighed tiredly. "Okay... keep going. We'll wait."

He and the others sat down on the stone floor and waited, warming themselves by the fire as best they could, while Nanaki and Sigil spoke, wandering around the floor of the cathedral as they did so.

Yuffie shivered, rubbing her hands together, trying to bring warmth back into them. She eyed the couple sitting opposite to her with some measure of jealousy, seeing as how they had the luxury of being able to huddle together underneath Vincent's cape.

"You cold?" Cloud asked, moving next to her.

Normally, she would have replied with some sarcastic remark, but right now she was too cold and tired to think of any clever retort. Besides, even though the opportunity for a witty answer was more than plentiful, she didn't want to put off her friend, a state of mind which was relatively new to her. So she settled for a simple "Yeah", nodding slightly as she continued to rub her upper arms in the hope that it might keep them from freezing and falling off altogether.

Cloud placed an arm around her shoulder, trying to help her get warm. She leaned against his shoulder briefly, before succumbing to her fatigue altogether, at which point she slumped over, resting her head in his lap. It felt nice, and she knew that it was about as much peace as either of them would find for the moment. She muttered a quiet "thanks", before closing her eyes..

* * *

A good hour passed. Yuffie and Tifa had nodded off, leaving Cloud and Vincent to keep the vigil over the fire. 

"Vincent?" Cloud spoke up, rousing the gunman from his reverie.

"Hmmm..?" Vincent replied, fatigue apparent in his voice as he responded, looking up from the fire.

"What do you make of all this?" Cloud asked.

Vincent thought for a moment, before replying. "It's difficult to tell... but it can't be good, whatever it is that's happening."

"Mmm.." Cloud replied, deciding that it would be better to wait until they had some answers. He looked over at Tifa, who was asleep in the gunman's arms.

"How is she?" Cloud asked.

"She's all right." Vincent assured his friend. "She wasn't harmed in the battle."

"I know.." Cloud replied. "..I meant, _altogether_." He explained. "How's she holding up?"

"Is this about.." Vincent began, but Cloud cut the gunman off before he could finish.

"I just never really had a chance to apologize, or explain to her why I left." he said. "Not until all this happened."

Vincent remained silent, waiting for his friend to continue.

"It was always too little and too late between us, you know?" Cloud said, a look of reminiscence in his eyes, as he watched the fire blazing fire in the pit between them. "I know I wasn't there for her a year ago, when I should have been.." The blond swordsman shook his head. "I can't explain it, but I just had to get away." He looked back up at Vincent, then at Tifa. "She says it's all right, but I know it's affected her somehow. I wasn't there for her when she needed me."

"You're here now, are you not?" Vincent replied, his gaze never wavering from his friend's.

"Yeah.." Cloud replied quietly, as if not quite believing it. He was here now, but would it be enough? He still couldn't help but feel that he had done irreparable damage to their friendship with his selfish act a year ago, when he had simply left without a word.

He looked back down into his lap, at Yuffie's sleeping figure. _"And what about her..?"_ he thought, brushing a few locks of hair from the young girl's face. He undeniably felt something for her, and he knew by now that these feelings were more than mutual. It wasn't any great mystery to anyone. Not anymore, anyway..

Nanaki finally joined the group again, rousing them from their reverie. The red-maned beast lay down in front of the fire, resting his head on the floor. "Amazing.." he said, breathless, watching the flickering flames as he rested.

"Well?" Vincent asked. "What have you learned?"

"Where to begin..?" Nanaki replied, partially to himself.

"How about here?" Tifa asked, waking up. "I mean, where are we? What _is_ this place?"

"Very well.." Nanaki replied, stretching as he sat up again. The red-maned beast moved over, sitting down opposite to the rest of the group. "I suppose I had better start at the beginning." He said, making eye contact with each of his friends to ensure that he had their undivided attention. Then he began..

"There was a war on another world, a long time ago. A civil war between different sects of the Cetra, long before any of this.." he began. "The people of that world called themselves the 'Astra'.."

"Wait," Yuffie interrupted. "are you saying that this is _not_ the original Cetra homeworld?" She asked, puzzled.

Nanaki grumbled. "I'll get to that in a minute." The red-maned beast replied testily. "As I was saying, there was a period of civil strife, and the people were divided into two factions, the Cetra and the Astra. The Cetra believed in harmony with nature, whereas the Astra preferred technological advancement at any cost. Those in power at that time favored the Astra ideology, and the Astra outnumbered the Cetra considerably." Nanaki continued. "Because of that, the Cetra were persecuted and oppressed. The name 'Cetra' itself carries shameful connotations.."

"Like what?" Tifa asked.

"It means 'outcasts' or 'pariah'." Nanaki explained. "It is a most degrading term."

_"Outcasts.."_ Cloud thought, a wistful look on his face as he listened to Nanaki's story..

"From what I can tell, the Cetra emigrated from that world to this one, establishing a new empire." Nanaki continued. "A period of peace followed, until one day, they were attacked by the Astra, who unleashed a devastating new weapon upon them." Nanaki paused briefly, before continuing. "That weapon was called Jenova."

"They _created_ Jenova?" Tifa asked, incredulous.

"Apparently, they did." Nanaki replied.

"As a weapon?" Cloud asked.

"Yes." Nanaki replied gravely. "A _living_ weapon."

"...How?" Tifa asked.

"At the time, the Astra were developing numerous advanced technologies... weapons, transports, vehicles capable of interplanetary travel, you name it. Jenova was the product of one of these research projects. I don't know the details, exactly, but having completed it, they decided that they needed to test their new weapon's effectiveness, so they chose the new Cetra colonies as targets. They bombarded their cities with special capsules, inside of which were contained these beings.." Nanaki explained. "They emerged from their shells and went to work, tearing up the cities and killing everything in sight." Nanaki shook his head. "It was a massacre.."

"Jeez.." Yuffie muttered under her breath, trying to ignore the sickening feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. The thought of someone being able to unleash an attack like that was terrifying to say the least. It was hard to believe that _anyone_ could cause death and destruction on such a large scale... and yet the proof was all around them..

"Then what happened?" Vincent asked, prompting Nanaki to continue his story.

"Most of the Cetra on this world were killed." Nanaki replied. "The others fled from the attack. Some of them didn't make it through the portal gates in time, and so they remained here, fleeing underground to escape from the ravaging Jenova army above."

"So they were decimated, and forced underground." Vincent concluded.

"Decimated?" Nanaki replied, shaking his head. "Oh, no. They fought back, and they fought _hard_."

The others eyed Nanaki with curiosity, as he continued.

"Using their abilities to interact with the lifestream, coupled with the strategic advantage afforded by their portal gates, the Cetra took the fight back to their original homeworld. The war damaged the Astra greatly as well as the Cetra." Nanaki explained. "But... it's strange. Now it seems as though the two sides have reached some sort of stalemate.."

"What about the gates themselves?" Cloud asked.

"Ah, yes. Good question." Nanaki replied. "As I understand it, there are two kinds. Transmitters and receivers. One type of gate can only 'receive' transmissions from other gates, while 'transmitter' ones can be configured to transmit objects and people to different gates. That explains the materia embedded in the gate we found over on this side. It plays some part in the gates' configuration, as I understand."

"So the gate on our side was.." Tifa began.

"Yes," Nanaki explained. "..only a receiver. Which means that the gate on this side was what triggered ours and made the connection."

"You mentioned that he called himself 'the leader of the Cetra in the Emperor's absence'." Vincent said, glancing over at Sigil in the distance. "What did he mean by that?"

"As I understand it, it is more a figure of speech than an actual circumstance." Nanaki replied. "The Cetra, from what I can tell, have not had an emperor for several thousand years now."

"What do you mean?" Yuffie asked.

"See that statue over there?" Nanaki gestured with his nose upwards at an imposing statue raised above the vast doors leading to the cathedral's inner sanctum. The statue was flanked by two bowls of fire, and gripped a large stone blade in its hands, pointed down towards the floor, giving the impression of an eternally vigilant guardian.

"That is their emperor, Mobius. Their first and last." Nanaki explained, speaking with a tone of reverence in his voice. "Apparently, he saved the Cetra from their imprisonment on the Astra homeworld, and led them to this one. Later on, when the Astra invaded this world, he ushered people into the portal gates, and protected those who were left behind. Afterwards, he rallied the survivors of the attack, and led the assault back into the Astra homeworld. He is revered as a hero in every regard. The Cetra regard him as their saviour. A deity, almost.."

"What happened to him?" Yuffie asked.

"He was killed in battle on the Astra homeworld, from what I can tell." Nanaki replied. "Afterwards, the Cetra recovered his body and entombed it in the city above."

"Then that building we saw in the distance.." Tifa began.

"The Crystal Palace, where he reigned, and where is body is now interred." Nanaki said. "According to Sigil, it is considered hallowed ground, and therefore entry is forbidden, which is unfortunate. Apparently, a good number of portal gates were built there."

"Speaking of which... what happened to those who escaped through the gates?" Cloud asked.

Nanaki turned his attention back to his friends. "As you know, the Cetra moved from one world to another, cultivating them as they went, before simply departing for the next one. This behaviour has puzzled historians throughout the ages.." The red-maned beast paused for a second. "But now it finally makes sense. They weren't migrating at all. They were _fleeing_."

"Then why did they stop?" Vincent asked.

"Well, that much we historians _do_ pretend to know." Nanaki answered, a caustic half-grin forming on his face. "They were tired. They had been moving around like this for a thousand years or more. Perhaps they had grown complacent, or simply forgotten what it was that they were fleeing from." The beastly scholar ventured. "In any case, the rest, as they say, is history."

"Indeed." Vincent replied, looking up again at the Emperor's statue.

"Not only theirs, but _ours_ as well." Nanaki added. "We are _directly_ descended from these people."

"How do you know that?" Tifa asked.

"When the Cetra fled from this world, the emperor, Mobius, entrusted his daughter with two of the Cetra's most prized, not to mention _dangerous_ artifacts." Nanaki explained.

From the grave look on Nanaki's face, It didn't take a genius to figure out what those two artifacts were..

"The Black and White materias.." Cloud said.

"Yes." Nanaki replied. "They are unyielding proof that our roots lie directly in this world, and its history."

"What about the greys?" Tifa asked. "And those people that came through the gate? Were they Cetra as well?"

"The greys are originally animals from this world that have been infected by Jenova cells." Nanaki explained. "Their bodies' cellular structures have been saturated to a level where almost nothing else remains. In a sense, the cells only retain the _idea_ of the animals that they originally infected. That would explain why they never feed, as Jenova cells are known to be self-sustaining. It also accounts for their unusual level of aggression."

"And that explains why they were able to fuse like that as well?" Vincent asked.

"Yes. As you know, Jenova cells will innately seek each other out. We've already seen the extent of the powerful bond between carriers of these cells." Nanaki replied, glancing at Cloud, who turned his gaze towards the floor. "Essentially, we're seeing the same thing here, only far more advanced."

"Can they be killed?" Cloud asked.

"Only if they are _completely_ destroyed." Nanaki answered. "By fire, for example."

"And those bodies we left behind in Rocket Town?" Vincent asked. "What of them?"

"Sigil claims that he does not know who or what they were, other than the fact that they were not Cetra." Nanaki replied.

"Were they Astra, then?" Tifa asked.

"When I inquired him about the subject, Sigil said that the Astra were long gone." Nanaki answered. "I'm still not sure what he meant by that."

"There's something he's not telling us.." Cloud said.

"I agree." Vincent said.

Nanaki rumbled in agreement. "I get the feeling that he doesn't trust us." He said, "He certainly doesn't seem all that happy about our presence here. But there's not much we can do about that for now. All we know for sure is that there is _something_ out there. Something besides the Jenovas and greys still scouring the surface, that is.."

"So I take it that the enemy still has a significant presence on this world?" Vincent asked.

"Enough to keep these people living underground." Nanaki replied congenially.

"Then what about that little girl?" Yuffie asked. "What was she doing up there if it's so dangerous?"

"Her name is Aya." Nanaki replied. "She's an orphan. She was looking for her brother, she says, who went missing a few days ago. Apparently he believed that he could find their missing parents somewhere in the wasteland above.."

A solemn quiet fell over the group brought on by the weight of all these new revelations, coupled with their growing fatigue.

"What do we do now?" Tifa asked quietly, breaking the silence.

"Sigil said that they'll offer us some lodgings for the night." Nanaki replied. "And that they'll help us search for our friends in the morning."

"Shouldn't we be heading out now?" Yuffie asked, worried. "If we keep waiting, we may be too late.."

"No, he's right." Cloud said. "We won't stand much chance of finding them in the dark. Besides, they can take care of themselves. We're better off heading tomorrow when we're rested and ready."

"Sounds good to me." Tifa replied, yawning and stretching. "I'm beat."

"Yeah, me too.." Yuffie admitted, sighing and rubbing her eyes.

Sigil approached the group, looking at them expectantly. Nanaki joined him, and they promptly led the group out of the cathedral and into their quarters.

* * *

_The world was blurry, azure-tinted, moving in slow motion, as if he were underwater. He could hear voices all around him, calling out, panicked. He was faintly aware of others moving behind him, around him...running. Running down a long, blue corridor. They were being chased... but by what?_

_He tilted his head back slowly, not stopping. In the distance, a swarm of black shapes were chasing him and the other people.._

_He felt strangely detached from what was happening around him, as though he were not himself anymore, but looking through someone else's eyes, experiencing something from past days. Someone else's memories.._

_He felt himself stop. Suddenly, he was looking down at someone else. A child, her face the only thing he could see clearly._

_"Daddy.." her voice came, a quiet whisper, sounding as if it were coming from a great distance._

_"Shh.." He felt himself answer, kneeling down, caressing the girl's face. "It'll be all right, Doya.."_

_Wordlessly, he reached inside of his robe, fetching two small objects from an inner pocket. One of which was an almost impossibly achromatic white, the other made of blackest obsidian. He placed the two orbs into the palm of the girl's hand, gently enclosing her fingers around them as he did so. He kissed her lightly on the forehead, giving her one last, tight hug before handing her over to her mother._

_"Take her." he instructed. "Go!"_

_As the people around him filed into the portal gate, he turned to face their pursuers, brandishing his blade.._

_"You may think you have us beaten.."_

_The pillars crumbled behind him, as the palace corridor fell apart, trapping him with the approaching black shapes._

_"...but in the annals of our history, our descendants will know only of your treachery, your suffering and_ your _destruction!"_

_The black figures converged on him, blocking out all vision. Everything became hazy, fading to black._

_As the world drowned out, a hollow voice, like a lingering sigh, whispered._

_"...let me die.."_

* * *

Cloud opened his eyes, gradually becoming aware of his surroundings as consciousness seeped back into his mind. He was laying on his side on a soft cot placed on the hard rock floor. It wasn't the most comfortable surface he had ever slept on, but compared to some of the conditions under which he'd had to rest during his days as a soldier, it was a king's bed. The torchlight of the small room he was in cast a soft red-orange hue on the walls, creating an almost hypnotic effect, which didn't do much to help him wake up. 

The last words of his dream still echoed faintly in his mind. He closed his eyes again briefly, pulling the comfortable covers over him to close in the warmth. He felt unusually lethargic this morning, worn out from the trials of the past few days. The events of his dream, still fresh in his memory, seemed alien, and yet there was something familiar about the whole thing that he couldn't quite place..

As he lay there, thinking about his dream and the events of the past night, he became aware of someone standing over him. Turning over, laying on his back, he opened his eyes again. A familiar face came into focus, as his eyes gradually adjusted to the light.

"Aya?" He said, his voice still raspy from sleep.

The little girl smiled at him at the mention of her name. Cloud coaxed himself into getting up, raising himself up on the cot, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Without a word, Aya took him by the hand, leading him out of the room and into the hall outside, where the others were seated at a table, having breakfast.

"Hey, it's about time you woke up." Tifa said, looking up at the two as they entered the room. Aya guided Cloud to a seat between Tifa and Yuffie, sitting down next to him. The little girl's affection towards her rescuer was more than apparent, as she had still not let go of his hand..

"I think she likes you, Cloud." Yuffie remarked, elbowing Cloud and winking at him suggestively, a familiar air of mischief about her. Cloud said nothing in reply, but exchanged a quick glance with the little girl sitting next to him. She seemed fascinated by him and his friends, being the strangers in a strange land that they were. Before long, the two of them had joined the others in eating breakfast, which consisted of corn bread and water, along with a few unfamiliar types of fruit and vegetables, as well as several kinds of meat.

"Where did they get all this food?" Cloud asked. There certainly hadn't been any crops or fields visible on the surface, nor animals, aside from the greys.

"They maintain all their crops underground," Nanaki explained. "through their ability to interact with the lifestream."

"It must be hard.." Tifa commented, looking over the table which was filled to the brim with food.

"They've given us quite generously." Nanaki admitted. "They wanted to thank us for bringing her back." He explained, gesturing towards Aya, who was enthusiastically diving face-first into a large, pear-like fruit.

"What do we do?" Tifa asked. "We can't just leave them like this."

"Maybe we should take them back through the gate." Yuffie suggested.

"Perhaps." Nanaki replied. "But we should regroup first, before we make any such decisions."

"All right." Cloud said, getting up from the table. "Let's head out. We'll probably find them back at the gate."

"About that..." Nanaki spoke up. "Sigil requested that we be escorted by a few of his praetorians if we're heading back up to the surface."

"We can take care of ourselves." Yuffie replied.

"Sigil doesn't seem to agree." Nanaki said. "He was quite insistent on this."

"Fine." Cloud replied. "In any case, let's go get our friends." He said, putting together his equipment and sheathing his weapon behind his back.

"They're in for a surprise.." Yuffie chuckled, as she and the group left the table, and headed back up to the surface.

* * *

Cid Highwind turned over from one side to the other, still half asleep. Along with Reeve and Barret, he had escaped from the Jenovas and greys last night, heading back for the safety of the dune buggy. The three of them had decided to spend the night there before heading back out to look for their friends. Currently, the airship pilot was laying back in the driver's seat of the buggy with his feet propped up on the dashboard and his well-worn pilot's cap slung over his eyes. He was tossing and turning, mumbling in his sleep, an unlit cigarette resting in his mouth. 

"Aw, yeah. A little more to the left... zzz..." He muttered, unaware of the approaching figures..

His slumber was interrupted as he heard several people walking up to the buggy. Adjusting his cap and opening one eye carefully, he saw several figures clad in grey robes and brandishing primitive-looking weapons surrounding him. The scene was like something from a dream... or a nightmare. Cid nearly jumped up from his seat when he saw the unfamiliar group of people encircling him and his friends, but quickly breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted Cloud and the others amidst the group.

The airship pilot untangled himself from his now awkward sleeping position and stumbled out through the driver's side door. "Geez, kid. You damn near gave me a heart-attack there!" Cid exclaimed as he stepped out of the buggy.

"Sorry about that." Cloud replied nonchalantly, somewhat amused by the expression on Cid's face. "Looks like you guys made it out okay."

"Yeah." Cid nodded. "I see you did, too."

"Hey, wuz going on here?" Barret asked, leaning out through one of the windows, still not quite awake. He found himself staring at several stern-looking Cetra warriors, who eyed the big man with a look of curiosity.

"Rev up the buggy!" Cid called to him and Reeve. "Look's like we're on the move."

Reeve took the driver's seat, starting up the dune buggy, driving slowly behind Cloud and the others as they headed back towards the Cetra's hideout.

"Now, who _are_ all these people?" Cid asked, jabbing his thumb at the Cetra guardians surrounding him and the other Avalanchers.

Cloud sighed. "It's a long story." He replied.

"Well, I'm all ears." Cid retorted, putting his coat back on as he followed the group back into the fallen city.

* * *

The group returned to the underground city, leaving the buggy parked near the building containing the hidden entrance. Cloud and Nanaki explained the situation to Cid, Reeve and Barret along the way. One of them would occasionally interrupt their explanations to ask a question. 

"So what you're saying is that all this time, they were running away from this Jenova army?" Reeve asked.

"Yes." Nanaki replied. "They moved quickly from one world to the next, cultivating them and staying there as long as they deemed safe, after which they moved on. The ones that we are descended from decided that they didn't want to continue living that way, and so they settled on our world for good."

"And then by some freak accident, one of these Jenova creatures ends up landing smack-dab on our world." Cid commented. "Talk about your bad co-incidences." The pilot shook his head, reaching into his jacket pocket for his pack of Lady Luck cigarettes.

"I'm not sure if I still believe in coincidences.." Nanaki said.

The Avalanchers spent the remainder of the day resting and mending their wounds. Nanaki took the opportunity to teach the others a few words of the Cetra language that he had learned, as well as the basics of reading their alphabet. Aya acted as a tour guide of sorts, showing them around the city, never leaving the group's sight for a minute. Night-time came eventually, and the little girl had to be separated from the group by her guardians, but not before taking a good while to bid them all farewell, and reassuring them that she'd be back with them in the morning.

With that, the group gathered in the underground cathedral to discuss their next move.

"What about that palace, then?" Tifa said. "Sigil mentioned that there were a number of gates supposed to be there."

"Yeah, about that.." Cid replied, scratching the back of his head. "We came across this black river of some kind on our way there. Call me crazy, but there's just something not _right_ about it. I don't think we're gonna be able to cross it just like that.."

"And besides.." Nanaki added. "There's no way to tell if those gates are still standing. Our _real_ concern should be how to reactivate the one we came through."

"Perhaps we should ask our hosts about that." Vincent said.

Following Vincent's suggestion, Nanaki brought Sigil into the cathedral. "What is it?" Sigil asked, a slight tone of impatience in his voice.

"The gates." Cloud said simply, getting straight to the point. "How do we open them?"

"I cannot tell you that." Sigil answered. "It is a closely guarded secret of our society, one that I will not divulge to outsiders."

"So we'll just have to figure it out on our own, huh?" Yuffie said.

"Maybe it takes a special type of key to activate it?" Reeve suggested.

"You mean like the Keystone?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah."

"What? How do you know about the keystones?" Sigil demanded. "They are not for outsiders to meddle with."

"We knew another Cetra." Tifa explained. "She told us.."

"Another Cetra?" Sigil interrupted. "You know of another Cetra?" The old man became excited, almost agitated, clutching Tifa's shoulders tightly as he spoke. "Take me to her! I _must_ speak with her. I.."

"She's dead." Cloud replied coldly, clenching his fists. He gave Sigil one last, acidic look before storming out of the room.

There was a short, but difficult silence in his absence. "Your friend is upset." Sigil finally remarked to the group.

"He's got every right to be." Cid replied, making to leave as well.

However, before anyone could say or do anything else, an earthquake shook the cathedral floor, throwing everyone off balance. Dust and sand fell from the ceiling as the tremor passed through the underground city.

"What the hell was that?" Yuffie asked, picking herself up from the ground as the quake subsided.

Before anyone could answer her question, another cetra emerged from the cathedral's inner sanctum, helping Sigil to his feet. "It's awakened!" The younger man told Sigil, panic in his voice.

"What? So soon?" Sigil replied. "This shouldn't be happening _now_.."

The older man turned his gaze towards the Avalanchers remaining in the room. "_You_.." he said accusingly. "Your arrival has brought this about. You've woken the Behemoth.."

"Something has to be done!" The younger man told Sigil. Sigil spoke a few words in reply that the Avalanchers didn't understand, before hurrying out of the cathedral.

"..I don't like this." Nanaki said.

"Why?" Yuffie asked. "What'd he say?"

"He said something about a... " Nanaki hesitated, dreading the word he was about to speak. "..a _sacrifice_."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I thought that with this being a sort of mellow, down-time chapter, it'd be easier to write, but it didn't quite turn out that way, now did it? That fact, coupled with the amount of coursework that I've had to wade through lately, means that this chapter's been a long time coming. Hope it was worth the wait.

The quotation this time is a modified version of one of the seven Penitential Psalms, commonly known as "De Profundis" (Literally meaning "From out of the depths"). Essentially, I wrote my own interpretation of the psalm, modified to remove any religious and historical references that would have caused it not to fit otherwise. I guess that still counts as a quotation, technically, although this is probably the most tenuous one so far. Also, the chapter's mood was largely inspired by the Dead Can Dance song of the same name, so the chapter's title was an obvious pick.

So, now some of the questions raised at the beginning of the story have finally been answered. But there are still several mysteries left to be solved. A writer has to stay one step ahead of his audience, after all. Are those really vengeful ghosts haunting Cloud, or are they just figments of his neuroses? Who are these other people wandering the surface? And what did Sigil mean by "sacrifice"?

You'll find out soon enough. Stay tuned.


	13. Where Strides The Behemoth

_anger precedes my footsteps  
haunting past comes into head  
horizon seems so far away  
this life, close to the end of days_

_a step from oblivion  
moving into the dim lights  
hiding within a reverie  
it was worth it for the wait alone_

_kill, and I will be damned  
forgive, and I will be free_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 13  
Where Strides The Behemoth**

* * *

"What do you mean, _"a sacrifice"_ ?" Cloud asked, a puzzled look on his face.

The group stood gathered in the archway just outside the underground cathedral. Nanaki had just finished relaying Sigil's last remarks to the Avalanche leader, much to his apparent dismay.

"That's what he said." The red-maned beast replied. "'_We must prepare a sacrifice'_." He quoted, repeating the exact words that Sigil had spoken before he had left the cathedral with his assistant.

"He's not talking about... _us_?" Yuffie asked, a hint of fear in her voice. "...is he?"

Nanaki shook his head slowly. "It didn't seem like it." The half-lion replied, tilting his head to one side. "They appeared to have something, or rather... some_one_ else in mind."

"If not us, then who?" Reeve asked.

Nanaki let a short purr slip from his larynx as he tried to make sense of the words that Sigil had spoken only moments ago. "I don't know exactly what he meant," He finally replied. "except that it has something to do with this monster that's been terrorizing the Cetra for more than half a century now. Something they call 'the Behemoth'."

Cloud crossed his arms, casting his gaze downwards as he assessed the situation. Not knowing what else to do, he decided that it would be best to confront the matter head on. "I'm going to have a word with him." The blond swordsman said to the others. He made off to find Sigil, brushing his right hand against the hilt of his sword as he walked off, as if to ensure that it was still intact, just in case his conversation with the Cetra leader didn't go well..

The others followed him to the city's main square, where seemingly all of the city's inhabitants had assembled. The Cetra survivors stood gathered on the square, worried looks on their faces as they watched Sigil and his assistant walk up to a raised juncture at the far end of the square. A small group of Cetra, composed of four men and one woman, was already gathered at the juncture in front of the crowd, dejected looks on their faces. Sigil walked up to the group of five, addressing them.

"There is no greater burden we could ask you to carry." Sigil addressed the group as he approached them. "Your sacrifice will be long remembered. We all thank you for stepping forward."

"Just make sure our families are kept safe." One of the men replied, a grim look on his ashen face.

"I give you my word." Sigil answered. It was clear that whatever task he was asking them to fulfill, it gave him no pleasure in doing so.

Cloud and the other Avalanchers broke through the main crowd, walking up to Sigil and the group of volunteers. "What's going on here?" Cloud demanded, cutting in.

"These brave souls have volunteered to appease the Behemoth." Sigil replied. "They will sacrifice their lives for the greater good."

_"No wonder they all look so grim.."_ Yuffie thought. _"They're being sent to their deaths.."_

"No." Cloud replied firmly, shaking his head. "That's not gonna happen."

"You do not _understand_." Sigil replied angrily, turning towards Cloud and the others. "If the Behemoth is not appeased, it will seek out its feed wherever it can reach. It will _expose_ us, don't you see? If we don't go through with this, we will _all_ perish." The Cetra leader explained.

"Why don't you just kill it?" Vincent asked coolly.

Sigil turned his head to the ground, sighing. "We cannot fight it." He replied. "Our weapons are useless against this terror. All we can do is conciliate it periodically with offerings like these.."

Cloud clenched his fists in frustration, turning his eyes to the ground. They were caught in an impossible situation, one that he could only see a single solution to. He looked back up again at Sigil, staring the Cetra leader directly in the eyes..

"Fine." He said. "But not these people."

Sigil and the others looked at the blond swordsman, confused.

"_We'll_ be the sacrifice." Cloud told him.

"What!?" Cid said, the cigarette nearly falling out of his mouth from the surprise.

"Spikes, what the hell are you talkin' about?" Barret hissed, reverting back to their own language.

"Just go with it." Cloud whispered back to the others, switching from Cetran back to their own language as well. "I'm buying us some time."

Sigil slowly shook his head. "No, we cannot accept that." He declined. "We cannot trust outsiders to fulfill this task."

Look, we're the ones who caused this." Cloud replied, attempting to reason with the older man. "We should be the ones to face the consequences."

Sigil looked at him and the others, giving some thought to the Avalanche leader's suggestion.

"C'mon, you've got nothing to lose." Cloud urged him.

Sigil relented at last. "Very well." He said. "But you must have carried out this task before midnight. Otherwise, we will proceed as planned."

The people that had stepped forward as volunteers for the sacrifice undeniably looked somewhat relieved by the Avalanchers' intervention. The crowd before them, however, still seemed confused as to what had just happened.

"C'mon." Cloud said to the others, gesturing for the group to follow him. Deciding not to waste any time, he walked back down off the juncture, making his way through the crowd again, heading towards the circular stairs hewn into the rock, leading back up to the upper floors of the city.

"So, what's the plan, spikes?" Barret asked. "'Cause I sure as hell didn't come here to end up as some damn Behemoth's breakfast.."

"Well, we've got no other choice, do we?" Cloud asked, turning back towards the group when they were out of the earshot of the Cetra crowd. "We've got to take that thing out ourselves."

* * *

"Oh,_ hell _no." Cid muttered, lowering the binoculars in his hands, an uncharacteristically dismayed look on the airship pilot's rugged face. He cautiously handed the binoculars over to Barret, who was standing next to him.

The Avalanchers stood gathered on a pile of rubble, one which formed a kind of hill amidst the plateau of debris on the city's surface. All of them were looking out towards the black river that lay between them and the other side, where the Crystal Palace could be seen in the distance, shrouded by fog.

However, their attention was focused on something else. Namely, the massive beast that was slowly surfacing from the thick blackness..

"Man... that is one _ugly_ motherfucker.." Barret muttered, watching the monster ascend from the black river through his binoculars.

Barret's comment was as apt of a description as any of the other Avalanche members could come up with. The creature looked like something that had emerged from a feverish nightmare and into the real world. Its body was covered with sharp spines and a thick, armoured hide, from which emerged several large serrated tentacles, like those of the Jenovas, which writhed uncontrollably as the great monster slowly marched forward on its four legs, dragging its thick, heavy tail behind it.

The beast strode forward with a lethargic pace, its movements characterized by an almost primordial lack of grace. It had certainly earned its nickname of "Behemoth", the Avalanchers thought, looking warily at one another. That thing was _huge_, to say the least. It looked to them like it might very well be the bastard child of a Jenova being and a dinosaur..

The Behemoth crawled out of the black pit with a pained slowness, like that of a prehistoric beast emerging from a tar pit after a century's slumber. As the Behemoth completed its ascent from the black abyss, it stopped, surveying its surroundings with several small, beady eyes set into its scarred face. Raising its head, the Behemoth split its four-way mouth open, letting out an ear-splitting roar, claiming its domain.

"Jeez.." Yuffie breathed, wincing as she lowered the binoculars, and passed them to the next person. "How the hell are we gonna fight that thing?"

"Yeah.." Barret agreed. "Ain't no wonder the Cetra were having problems with it. That thing is effin' huge.."

"Is that thing a Jenova creature, too?" Reeve asked, turning to Nanaki, the scholar of the group.

"Probably." Nanaki replied, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes as he regarded the monster in the distance. "It is possible that some of the animals infected by the Jenova cells have evolved, or rather, _devolved_ into things like this over time.."

"So that black pool is.." Tifa started.

"..dead Jenova cells?" Vincent finished for her.

Nanaki let another deep rumble escape from his larynx as he pondered the idea. "Jenova cells? Probably." He concurred. "Dead? Not likely."

"What do you mean?" Yuffie asked.

"From what I can tell, that pool is most likely a concentrated solution of degenerated Jenova cells, which would explain the liquid's unnatural appearance and behaviour." The animal scholar explained. "That means we won't be crossing it anytime soon.."

"Well, we sure as hell ain't swimmin' over." Barret commented.

"Well, what about this Behemoth thing?" Cid asked. "How are we gonna kill that bastard?"

"It doesn't look like we can get too near him.." Cloud said, crossing his arms.

"Hmmm..." Cid muttered, rubbing his bristled chin, as he eyed the roaming monster. The others noted that the airship pilot had been unusually quiet during their conversation, as he watched the creature wandering in the distance.

"What is it?" Cloud asked, turning his head towards Avalanche's resident pilot extraordinaire.

"I've got an idea." The pilot replied, still looking off into the distance, chewing on the butt of his cigarette. "Call it killing two birds with one stone.." The pilot turned to face the other Avalanchers. "Remember what I said about us needing wings?"

"Yeah?" Reeve replied.

Cid didn't respond, but his wolf-like grin said everything that needed to be said.

_"Of _course_."_ Cloud thought. _"We should have thought of that sooner.."_

It was a perfect plan, but there was one piece that they still needed to fall into place, before they could make it happen. Seeing that the group's leader had caught on to his meaning, Cid turned away, heading back towards the underground city again.

"Hey, where are you going?" Tifa asked.

"Back to the city." Cloud explained, going after Cid, gesturing for the others to follow them. "We're going to have a little talk with Sigil's assistant.."

* * *

Not surprisingly, Sigil's young assistant was taken aback at their request.

"I... I can't tell you that.." The young man stammered. However, the looks on the faces of the group of people opposite him told him that they would not be swayed.

Deciding to take another approach, Cloud stepped forward. "What's your name?" He asked innocuously.

"What?" Sigil's assistant replied, surprised.

"Your name." Cloud repeated. "What is it?"

"It's... it's Schias." The young man replied hesitantly, calming himself somewhat, letting his guard down ever so slightly.

"Schias... what would you say if I told you that we could rid you of that thing for good?" Cloud asked earnestly, placing an arm across Schias' shoulder, leading him down the Cathedral's central corridor as he spoke.

"You mean... the Behemoth?" Schias replied. "But... that's impossible."

"You really think so?" Cloud asked, looking the nervous young man directly in the eye.

Schias' gaze wavered as he replied. "We've thrown everything we can at it." He answered, shaking his head.

"Well, maybe we have something that you don't." Vincent said, joining in their conversation. "But in order to get to that something, we _need_ to open the gate in the courtyard above." The gunman explained. "And that's where _you_ come in. We need to know how to open the gates, and we need you to tell us."

"Th- There are many ways," Schias stammered, "but.."

"Yes?" Vincent pressed.

Schias swallowed hard, shrinking away from the interrogation of the two men standing in front of him. Finally, his eyes hazarded over to Sigil's staff, which was placed in a central dais behind the bowl of fire that lay at the far end of the corridor.

"The staff?" Cloud asked impetuously, catching what Schias had hinted at. "That's how we open the gates?"

Taking Schias' timorous silence as an answer, Cloud and the others headed towards the dais where the staff was secured. However, Schias ducked past the group, moving between them and the staff. "No!" You can't..." The young Cetra exclaimed, raising his arms, barring them from moving any further.

Cloud narrowed his eyes at the young cleric. Despite his frail build and nervous demeanour, the young man seemed determined to prevent them from removing the staff. However, Cloud and the others knew that he would not be able to stop them for very long. The blond swordsman hoped, however, that things wouldn't have to come to that..

"We're just going to borrow it for a little while." Cid assured Schias, walking up to the young cleric, easing him out of the way, as the others moved up to the dais.

A familiar voice greeted them, as Yuffie and Reeve proceeded to remove the staff from its recess. "Cloud!"

At the mention of his name, Cloud turned to face the little girl he had rescued only the day before. "Aya?" He replied. "What is it?" He asked as the girl ran up to him and the others.

"You're going to fight the Behemoth, aren't you?" She asked, looking up at the assembled group before her.

The Avalanchers were rather surprised by the little girl's question. Either she had been eavesdropping, something which they found to be quite unlikely, or she had guessed from their behaviour what their intentions were.

In any case, Cloud decided, there was no point in trying to hide it from her. He knelt down to face the little Cetra girl. "Yes, we are." He replied earnestly.

"Take me with you." Aya said simply.

Cloud was taken aback by her request. "What!?" He replied, dismayed. "No, you're not coming with us.."

"Yes, I am! I'm going with you!" Aya replied stubbornly, stamping her foot down.

"Aya, you're not coming to the surface with us, and that's final." Cloud replied firmly.

"I'm coming with you, whether you let me or not." Aya demanded, crossing her arms and turning away from Cloud, an angry and hurt look on her face.

"Why?" Yuffie asked, coming up next to them, leaning over to face the little Cetra girl. "Why do you want to go out there so badly?"

Aya didn't move or reply, but merely turned her gaze towards the floor.

Schias stepped forward. "Last year..." He paused for a second, looking concernedly at the little girl, before continuing. "..her parents offered to appease the Behemoth." The young cleric explained.

Aya still had her back turned to the rest of the group, but they could all hear a muffled sniffle coming from her. She raised one hand to brush something away from her eye. "I wanted to see it for myself." She whispered quietly. "That's all.."

She turned back towards the others, looking up at them. "My brother never knew.." She explained. "That's why he went to the surface to look for them."

Cloud sighed, shaking his head slowly. He had never been particularly good with children, but he couldn't very well ignore the young girl's pleas. He had to do something. Still kneeling down, face to face with the young Cetra girl, he placed his hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes. "Aya, we can't take you with us.." He said softly. "It's... it's not going to be safe."

"No.." Aya protested weakly, but it was obvious that she didn't expect to change anyone's mind anymore.

"You have to stay down here, and make sure that everyone's all right." Cloud said to her. "Can you do that?"

Aya looked up at him and nodded, biting her lip, trying to hold back any more tears that might surface.

"Here." The ex-soldier carefully removed the dog-tags from around his neck, and gently placed them around the little girl's. "Watch these for me while I'm gone."

Aya studied the small metallic objects around her neck with childish curiosity and fascination. Looking over at the two of them, Tifa and the others realized the significance of this gesture. They knew exactly what those tags meant to the Avalanche leader. More than just oval pieces of aluminum, they were proof of his existence..

"I'll be back for them later." Cloud said to Aya, getting back up to his feet. He looked over at his friends, who now had Sigil's staff securely in their possession.

"Let's go." He said quietly, heading back to the surface..

* * *

The dune buggy raced through the empty streets of the city, closely followed by a black motorcycle. The two vehicles were headed away from the centre of the vast, crumbling citadel and out into the barren fields nearby. The city's rubble-laden streets glistened with wet from the light drizzle, as storm clouds gathered in the skies above..

Cloud's motorcycle came up next to the buggy as the two vehicles exited the city, moving north towards the Behemoth's last known location. The ex-SOLDIER adjusted his weight ever so slightly as he drove across the uneven ground, to compensate for the extra weight that he was carrying on his back.

"There, to the right. You see it?" He spoke into the small mic attached to the lapel of his black turtleneck, which was connected to his PHS.

"Yeah... kinda wish we didn't." Reeve's voice sounded in his earbud, also wirelessly attached to his PHS. "That thing looks even worse up close.."

"Cid, is the gate open yet?" Cloud asked, keying his mic again.

"We're working on it." The pilot replied, his voice sounding tinny and fuzzy over the PHS connection.

"Hurry." The ex-SOLDIER urged, as he and the buggy closed in on the Behemoth.

"Awright, let's get his attention." Barret said, as they neared the hulking beast. From what they could tell, the Behemoth was wandering aimlessly around the outskirts of the city, seemingly in no hurry to be anywhere, as it continued its search for food..

The buggy and the motorcycle came to halt on either side of the giant monster. The Behemoth showed no interest in them, but simply turned its head lazily, eyeing its visitors with detached apathy as it slowly roamed across the empty plains.

Reeve, who was sitting in the passenger seat, quickly rolled his window down and raised his rifle, steadying the weapon on the window's frame, before letting off a short burst of fire.

The effect was immediate.

The bullets impacted the Behemoth's skin, some of them deflecting off the beast's tough hide, while others dug their way inside its flesh. They definitely had the Behemoth's attention now. The great monster spun around with surprising speed, unleashing an earth-shattering scream, revealing a mouth full of sharp, nasty-looking incisors placed at all angles, as well as a long, snake-like tongue.

Cloud reached down and drew his service pistol, narrowing his eyes as he aimed squarely at the now-furious beast, firing a few shots as well. The Behemoth recoiled slightly from their attacks, eyeing its two aggressors wildly, as if deciding which one to go after first. Its tentacles writhed and uncoiled as it made its choice, breaking into a run, charging straight towards the stationary dune buggy.

"Oh, shit!" Reeve exclaimed. "Barret, move it!"

Barret gunned down the pedal, wheeling the buggy around just in time to avoid the beast's attack. Deciding not to stick around for the beast's next charge, he turned and drove the buggy hard back towards the city. And more importantly, back towards the portal gate waiting there..

* * *

Back at the gate, Cid, Vincent, Tifa, Yuffie and Nanaki were having problems of their own.

"I'm tellin' ya, the damn thing's not working.." Cid grumbled, tapping Sigil's staff against the left-hand foundation of the gate.

"Schias said we were supposed to touch the staff against the base of the gate, right?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah, it's just not _working_." Cid replied irritably.

"Look, if we don't get this thing open soon, we're screwed." Yuffie said.

"Well, why don't you go on ahead and suggest something else then?" Cid replied testily.

"Maybe you're just not using that thing right." Yuffie suggested. "Maybe you're supposed to touch it up against something else."

"Yeah, like what?" Cid asked irritably.

"Look." Yuffie replied patiently, pointing at the orb fixed atop the staff, in the center of its top ornament. "Materia."

Cid glanced at the small sphere placed inside the complex, circular ornament. "Right. And..?"

Yuffie snatched the staff from the pilot's hands. Sauntering gingerly up to the left-hand side of the gate, she pointed the staff at the multicoloured orbs inserted into the gate from one end to the other. "Materia on materia." She explained. "Get it?"

"Schias didn't say anything about.." Cid started, as Yuffie proceeded to touch the two orbs against one another. Before the captain could complete his sentence, however, the portal gate burst into life, Lifestream energy flowing through its centre, crackling with raw power.

"...Smart-ass." Cid commented, glancing warily at the now rather smarmy-looking young ninja.

"You're welcome." Yuffie replied, grinning, handing him the staff again.

"All right. Let's set the trap, shall we?" Vincent said. The others nodded, following him through the gate..

* * *

"Shit! This thing's faster than we thought!" Barret exclaimed, narrowly dodging some debris that was scattered on the roads as the Behemoth continued to give chase through the city. Cloud followed the two as closely as he could on his motorcycle, trailing slightly behind the buggy and the rampaging beast coming after it. He could see the portal gate in the distance, the bright green glow emanating from its centre indicating that the others had succeeded in opening it at last..

"It's just a little further!" Reeve urged. "Keep going!"

"We may need to buy them some time." Cloud told them.

As they neared the last city block between them and the gate, the Behemoth finally closed the distance between itself and the buggy, smashing into the small vehicle's rear end, tearing up its frame.

With his left hand still on the handlebar, Cloud drew his pistol again, firing at the Behemoth to disrupt its momentum. The hulking beast groaned irritably, but continued to press its attack on the buggy. Cloud kept firing, until an audible 'click' told him that his pistol had run dry. "Damn it!" the ex-soldier cursed, holstering his pistol again, gunning his motorcycle harder, trying to make his way past the charging beast in front of him. The Behemoth, however, gave no quarter, forcing him to slow down again in order to avoid being crushed between the beast and the gauntlet-like passage of buildings on either side of him..

The buggy swerved wildly from left to right, as Barret tried his best to avoid the Behemoth's assault, but it was no good. They were now only a few meters away from the gate, when, suddenly, the Behemoth lowered its head, catching a hold underneath the buggy, and in one swift, violent motion, vaulted the small vehicle off the ground, causing it to flip upside down in mid-air, before crashing hard onto the debris-filled ground again, crushing the vehicle's roof.

"Reeve! Barret!" Cloud called, keying his PHS. "You guys ok!?"

"Yeah, we're all right.." Reeve's voice came over the PHS, sounding slightly raspy. "..but the buggy's wrecked."

Cloud looked ahead, to see the Behemoth stalking around the buggy, which lay only a few inches apart from the gate. The great beast latched several of its tentacles onto the buggy, dragging it closer, scouring the vehicle for its occupants.

"Could use some help here!" Barret's panicked voice came over Cloud's PHS.

Cloud stopped his motorcycle sideways on the other end of the square, and, without so much as a pause, reached for his rifle and let off a long volley of gunfire. The weapon's discharge echoed loudly off the walls of the surrounding buildings, and the muzzle flash stemming from the unrelenting wave of gunfire was nearly blinding.

It wasn't until the clip ran dry that he finally lowered his rifle to see the results. Just as he'd hoped, the Behemoth released the dune buggy, and turned towards him instead. The beast roared angrily at him, stalking slowly over to his position, several meters away. In the distance, Cloud could see Reeve and Barret pulling themselves from the smoking wreckage of the buggy, heading for the gate.

"Thanks." Reeve's voice came over his PHS.

"No problem.." Cloud replied. "I'll keep him busy. Just make sure you're ready on the other side."

"Ok." Barret replied, breathless.

Cloud looked over at the gate again. A short burst of pale green light coming from the gate indicated that his friends had made it inside safely. Unfortunately, the Behemoth's attention was now focused solely on him..

"Crap.." Cloud thought, discarding the empty rifle, revving his motorcycle hard as the beast charged frantically towards him. The ex-soldier turned his motorcycle, heading back inside the city streets, hoping to keep the enraged beast tied up for a few more minutes while his friends prepared its 'welcome' on the other side.

The Behemoth gave chase back inside the city block, slowly gaining on the speeding motorcycle. Cloud dodged and weaved past walls of debris and other obstructions as best he could, knowing that any great loss in speed would mean his death.

As he turned right, rounding the corner into another city street, the cacophony of noise that had followed him was suddenly replaced by an eerie silence. Continuing to drive down the street, the blond swordsman glanced behind him, to see what had happened.

The Behemoth was gone.

Doing a double take, Cloud confirmed that Behemoth had indeed disappeared. The hulking miscreation was no longer coming after him. _"What the..?"_

He didn't have much time to ponder the beast's disappearance, as all of a sudden, without warning the Behemoth came crashing through the building on his right, nearly crushing him against the wall on the other side. Dust and debris rained all over the two of them as the beast smashed through the wall, decimating what little infrastructure left had held the building together.

The beast roared loudly, charging once again after its new prey. The line of buildings on either side of Cloud and the Behemoth began to fall apart, toppling one over the other as they raced frantically through the narrow street..

Just up ahead, the last building on the right side of the street began to crumble, beginning to fall slowly across the rest of the road. Cloud swerved hard to the left, but he saw that it would be too late. The rapidly closing gap between the collapsing building and the street would be too narrow for him to make it through in time. He was trapped. Either he'd be crushed by the falling building, or get ground into dust by the charging Behemoth coming after him..

With no other choice left, Cloud leaned his bike dangerously far down to the left, so that his left shoulder almost touched the ground, sliding under the falling building as it crashed into the ground, missing the ex-soldier by mere inches. Unable to recover from the hard turn in time, Cloud lost balance, falling off his motorcycle, rolling onto the harsh, unforgiving ground.

After reeling uncontrollably on the ground for a few seconds, he finally came to a halt, laying flat on his stomach, taking in as much air as he could in short, ragged breaths. His motorcycle lay on the ground a short distance away, its wheels still spinning. Still somewhat dazed from his tumble, Cloud tried to force himself back to his feet. As he did so, he saw the Behemoth smash through the rubble left by the fallen building. The beast paused, shaking off the dust and debris from its hide, as it recovered from its attack.

Looking to his left, Cloud saw the portal gate, still active, at the far end of the street, almost perfectly lined up. He quickly assessed the situation. On one end of the intersection stood the Behemoth, looking ready to pounce, while he lay still on the other end. His motorcycle laying between them, right in the middle of the crossroads. The Behemoth stood still, eyeing its quarry with what Cloud could have sworn was a look of smug self-satisfaction. As if daring him to make the first move..

"All right." Cloud said quietly, picking himself up from the ground, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Let's go."

He and the Behemoth stood there for a moment, neither one moving, as they sized each other up. Then, moving as fast as he could, Cloud made a break for his motorcycle, prompting the Behemoth to start charging him again. Reaching his bike first, Cloud wasted no time in raising and getting back onto his vehicle. Revving up the still-running engine, he jackknifed his motorcycle in the direction of the gate, barely evading the Behemoth's ramming attack as his vehicle tore down the street.

Cloud pushed his bike as hard as he could, making a beeline for the gate at the far end of the street, but the raging beast behind him was catching up to him again, by sheer force of momentum. He could feel the nightmarish monster clawing at him with its feelers and tentacles, hear the thrum of its charging feet, ready to grind him into dust as it moved in closer.

Just a little further until he made it through the gate..

The Behemoth smashed into the overturned dune buggy, pushing it easily out of the way with the force of its weight. The ruined buggy shot out of the way, its wreckage ripping apart as it crashed into the ground.

_Three seconds.._

The light emanating from the gate was so close now, so bright that it was almost blinding..

_Two.._

The Behemoth screamed frantically at him as it drew closer, inch by inch..

_One._

* * *

The trap was set..

...Almost.

Cid was already aboard the Highwind, preparing the ship along with Reeve and Nanaki. Yuffie and Tifa were busy detaching the last of the ship's mooring lines, which lay on the mesas on either side of the portal gate. Vincent and Barret had taken up defensive positions on the separate mesas, Vincent next to his fiancée, while Barret paired up with Yuffie.

"Done!" Yuffie called enthusiastically into her PHS as the mooring line she had been working on came undone.

"I'm having some trouble with this one!" Tifa's voice came, tinted with worry.

"Hang on!" Yuffie replied, sliding down the steep, rocky side of her mesa. "I'll be right over!"

The young ninja girl dashed quickly across the plain between the two mesas. However, just as she was about to pass the portal gate situated on her right, a short but brilliant flash of light burst from the gate, as Cloud shot past her on his motorcycle, followed a split-second later by the raging Behemoth, their frenzied emergence from the gate causing the young ninja to nearly lose her balance. Reaching for her shuriken as she deftly spun around, dodging away from the two objects rushing past her, she managed to stabilize herself, pausing for a second to cast Cloud a worried glance, before continuing on her way to help Tifa with the last of the mooring lines.

Seeing that their guest had arrived, Vincent and Barret wasted no time in welcoming the charging Behemoth with a hail of gunfire, taking care not to hit their friends still on the ground. On his motorcycle, Cloud tried his best to ignore the vertigo-inducing feeling that came with travelling through the gate. As he reached the steep cliff wall that closed off the plateau underneath the Lost City, he quickly made a sharp U-turn, forcing the Behemoth to slow down in order to keep chasing him.

Their playing field had evened somewhat, now that he had the luxury of a spacious plain to drive around, largely free of obstructions. He could keep the Behemoth chasing after him for a little while longer, while his friends completed their preparations. He knew, however, that he wouldn't be able to keep this up forever..

Yuffie clambered up on top of the mesa where Tifa and Vincent were busy with their respective tasks of freeing the Highwind of its reins and keeping the Behemoth suppressed. She rushed over to Tifa to help her free the second-to-last mooring line, working as fast as she could. As the two of them worked to remove the thick steel cable from its anchoring claw, Barret joined them, having moved over from his mesa as well. The bulky miner moved up next to Vincent, joining him in keeping the Behemoth at bay while Cloud encircled the plains below.

The second-to-last mooring line finally came free with a loud 'snap!'. The girls recoiled slightly as the stubborn cable finally gave way, swinging freely at last. "Got it!" Yuffie called, turning to face the last remaining mooring line.

"Are those cables done yet!?" Cid's gruff voice came over their PHS systems, filled with the captain's characteristic impatience.

"Last one!" Tifa shouted, running over to the mooring cable.

"I'll take care of it!" Yuffie replied, coming up next to her. "You guys get on board! I'll be there in a minute!"

"You sure!?" Tifa asked, raising her voice so she could be heard over the noise coming from the gunfire next to them.

"Yeah, I've got it!" Yuffie replied confidently. "Hurry!"

Tifa nodded, gesturing for Vincent and Barret to follow her as she began to climb up the steel cable, heading back inside the ship by means of the open cargo bay floor. As soon as Barret's feet left the ground, Yuffie knelt down and began working on the last cable.

Meanwhile, on the plateau below, the Behemoth began to grow tired of its idle chase. Glancing up, it eyed a new target..

Groaning, Yuffie worked hard at removing the last bolt from the mooring claw. Irritated, she gave the difficult bolt a couple of hard hits with her combat shuriken, but it was to no avail. "Damnit!" The young ninja stood up, giving out a frustrated sigh as she dusted herself off. No sooner had she gotten up, however, than torrent of dust exploded next to her.

Startled, she turned, shielding herself as best she could from the dust storm as it cleared away, revealing the Behemoth standing right in front of her, the massive beast having charged up onto the top of the mesa. The Behemoth began to stalk towards her, its tentacles and feelers reaching out towards the young ninja as she backed away, swiping away at them as they neared her.

"Stay back!" She shouted at the beast, retreating warily as the Behemoth advanced.

"Yuffie!?" Cid's voice came over the PHS again. "You got that cable yet?"

"Not now, Cid!" Yuffie replied, still retreating, now using her shuriken more as a shield than a weapon. The young ninja was too preoccupied with her retreat to notice the small jut of rock behind her..

"Ah!" The young ninja cried out in surprise as she tripped on the small rock, falling flat on her butt. The Behemoth closed in, towering over the young girl. The monster's six-way mouth split open, thick saliva dripping from its mandibles as it roared slowly at her..

Still dazed, Yuffie thought that she could just faintly hear another kind of roar, coming from her left. Before she could move or think, however, one of the Behemoth's tentacles lashed out, cracking like a whip. Yuffie recoiled, bracing herself for the inevitable and painful hit... but it never came.

Prying her eyes open, she saw the Behemoth backing off, growling furiously, its tentacle sliced clean off, the amputated appendage writhing uselessly on the ground. Glancing to her right, she realized what had happened, as she spotted a certain blond swordsman, sitting atop his motorcycle, his buster sword held firmly in one hand. Cloud had intervened at the last second, slicing the beast's tentacle in half as he off as he drove right in between them.

"Get on!" He called, gesturing for her climb onto his bike. "Hurry!"

She didn't need to be told twice. Picking herself up, Yuffie grabbed her shuriken and threw it hard at the last remaining mooring line. The shuriken connected perfectly, detaching the final bolt, freeing the Highwind from its restraints at last. Not pausing to catch her weapon again, Yuffie ran over to Cloud's motorcycle, wrapping her arms firmly around the blond swordsman's waist as she jumped onto the seat behind him.

The Behemoth spun around, turning towards the two of them as Cloud drove past the monster, heading for higher ground. Yuffie lowered her head, dodging the beast's heavy tail as it swung overhead, nearly knocking her off the bike. The giant monster began to give chase yet again..

Meanwhile, up in the air, the Highwind began to turn around, facing the three combatants on the ground..

"Oh, yeah!" Cid exclaimed excitedly, finally in control of his ship again. The airship pilot gripped the Highwind's controls firmly, swerving his ship around, firing the ship's main cannons squarely at the Behemoth. "Who's your daddy now, bitch!?" He shouted, as the ship's high-velocity bullets tore through the rocky ground below, penetrating through the Behemoth's thick armoured hide.

"Hey! Careful!" Tifa shouted. "Cloud and Yuffie are still down there!"

"Hell, I know that!" Cid replied grouchily, none too pleased at being chastened at a moment like this.

The Highwind was raining hell on Cloud and Yuffie's pursuer, firing a relentless stream of tracer bullets at the Behemoth as it swung around, following the monster's movements. Cloud, meanwhile, was busy trying to stay ahead of the chaos following him and his charge, as the two of them raced up the cliffs in an attempt to escape. The cliff's straight passages were growing thinner as he and Yuffie moved further up. One wrong turn, he realized, and they'd both plunge to their deaths.

Deciding to take more aggressive action, Cid released the trigger buttons on his controls at last, ceasing his fire. The airship pilot instead moved over to a set of switches next to the main controls. Switches that he felt it was time to put to good use. Namely the ones controlling the Highwind's main arsenal..

Several large rockets shot out from the Highwind's underside, slamming into the cliff walls just above the Behemoth's head, showering the area with rocks and sand as they exploded. "Cid, watch it!" Yuffie shouted into her PHS as one of the rockets flew over their heads, nearly hitting her and Cloud as they sped up the cliff's narrow ridges, but her voice was drowned out by the noise.

Cloud jackknifed his motorcycle as he and Yuffie reached the top level of the sunken cliffs, just barely avoiding another one of the Behemoth's attacks. At this height, he could see the Lost City's streets not far above their position. But they were trapped. There was nowhere left to go, and the Behemoth was closing in fast. They were cornered.

Thinking fast, Yuffie spotted a broken slope at the far end of the cliff, right at the edge, forming a sort of natural ramp.

"Over there!" She said to Cloud, pointing at the cliff's edge over his shoulder. The ex-soldier glanced at her briefly, gauging the look on the young ninja's face. He could see fear in her eyes, but also determination. He looked ahead again, seeing the Highwind passing by near the ramp..

There wouldn't be any second chances for this..

"Hold on." He warned her.

The blond swordsman gunned down on the throttle, driving towards the cliff's edge, racing up the naturally formed ramp, the Behemoth right on their heels. The motorcycle angled upward sharply as they hit the ramp, until suddenly, the ground disappeared right from under them.

They sailed through the air for a few seconds, the ground below dangerously far beneath them. Then, with agonizing inevitability, gravity began to pull them back down again. They fell...

...just barely making it over the railing of the Highwind's observation deck. The motorcycle hit the floor at an awkward angle, causing its passengers to fall off to the sides, landing hard on the ship's deck. Cloud rolled across the observation deck, coming to a stop at the deck entrance, smashing the back of his head into the door's steel frame, causing him to black out momentarily.

As he regained his sight, he saw the Behemoth running after them, stampeding up the ramp. But as the heavy beast made to leap in pursuit of its prey, the thin slope collapsed underneath its tremendous weight, causing the beast to fall back down towards the canyon floor.

Trying his best to block out the searing pain in the back of his head, Cloud forced himself to his feet again, moving over to Yuffie, who still lay sprawled over on the observation deck's floor.

"You ok?" He breathed, helping the young ninja girl to her feet.

"Yeah. You?" She asked in return.

Cloud gave a quick nod. Without pausing, he led her back inside the Highwind. As they walked down the stairs, he suddenly began to feel lightheaded. He stumbled, nearly falling down the stairwell as his body simply ceased to function. The ex-soldier slumped against the wall, breathing hard.

"Cloud!" Yuffie called, worried.

"I'm ok. I'm ok.." Cloud assured her, continuing down the stairs. Yuffie supported him, as the two of them moved cautiously down the steel steps together, leaning against one another for support. Cloud closed his eyes for a second, as Yuffie helped him down the flight of stairs. His face felt unusually flushed, and he could feel something warm trickling down the back of his neck. He could have sworn that he'd heard a sharp crack earlier, when he hit his head..

But they had bigger things to worry about at the moment. His injury would have to wait, he decided, against his better judgement.

The two of them raced across the walkway leading to the Highwind's command deck. "Jeez, that was some crazy stunt you pulled off back there.." Cid greeted them as they entered the room. "You kids ok?"

"Yeah, we're.." Yuffie began, when suddenly, the Highwind lurched forward violently, causing everyone inside to lose their balance. Cid, clutching onto the control console's rudder for balance, raised himself up to his feet. Warily, he peered out the Highwind's large front windshield to see what had happened.

"Oh, hell.." The airship captain muttered, seeing the cause of the sudden turbulence. The Behemoth, still alive, had somehow become entangled in two of the airship's mooring lines..

The Avalanchers picked themselves up from the command deck's floor. Before any of them had time to act, however, the ship jerked forward again, banking downward sharply as the massive beast began to pull it forward. Cid desperately tried turning the ship left and right, but his efforts were in vain, as the Behemoth broke into a run, dragging the entangled airship behind it.

The inside of the Highwind shook and trembled as the hulking monstrosity on the ground charged forward, pulling the helpless airship along. Then, as the Behemoth reached the far end of the plateau, it turned sharply to the left, running back in the opposite direction. The Highwind, now at the mercy of the centrifugal forces built up the great beast's run, swung around in a wide arc, following the Behemoth's motion, heading straight into one of the ancient city's coral structures.

The Highwind crew's panicked shouts and screams were cut short as the ship smashed into the coral tower, shattering the ancient structure. The collision sent everyone inside the ship tumbling all over the Highwind's command deck, like a bunch of rag-dolls, and mangled the right side of the ship.

Cid raised himself up to the control console again, surveying the damage that had been done to his precious airship. The Behemoth, meanwhile, was preparing to round the corner of the plateau again, gearing itself up for another attack.

Cid Highwind bit down hard on his cigarette, cursing under his breath. Another shot like that, and they'd be finished..

"Oh, that's how you wanna play, is it?" The grizzled pilot said, firmly grasping the ship's controls. "All right. Let's play."

The Behemoth began to round the corner of the plateau's far side, forcing the Highwind on a collision course with another spiral tower. This time, however, Cid was prepared, acting just in the nick of time. Instead of trying to bank left or right, the Highwind captain turned his ship downwards, turning the ship portwise. As the Highwind began to angle sharply down and to the left, Cid pulled the rudder back towards him, righting the ship again. The airship began to level, narrowly missing the canyon wall as it completed its turn. The sharp turn caused the Highwind to gain the upper hand in acceleration, and as a result, the mooring line, which had up to that point been taut, began to loosen.

And then it quickly tensed up again as the Highwind overtook the charging Behemoth, passing over the beast's head, the ship's massive downdraft sending dust and sand flying in all directions as it rushed forward. The mooring cable went taut again, yanking the heavy beast off the ground momentarily, much to its surprise.

The Behemoth, however, was too heavy for the airship to keep it in the air for more than a few seconds. As its feet landed on the ground again, the Behemoth, now being almost dragged along by the Highwind, diverged its course to the right, moving at an angle to the airship in front of it. The beast charged forward as fast as it could, running almost vertically against one the canyon walls. The hulking monster built up momentum, relaxing the mooring line's hold, then leapt off the wall, turning sharply to the left, running perpendicular to the Highwind's direction.

As the mooring cable went taut once again, the Highwind lost its forward momentum, jerking violently as the Behemoth took control once more. Cid grimaced, trying to figure out his next move. He and the others were caught in a deadly game of tug-of-war, and they were at a disadvantage..

Deciding to use the same tactic that the Behemoth had just employed, Cid turned the Highwind sharply downwards and to the left again, passing over the beast as he flew the ship at a perfect 90 degree angle to its direction. The Behemoth was once again pulled off the ground, this time swinging into the air for a good, long moment, before returning to the ground again.

However, as it did so, something unexpected happened. Suddenly, and without warning, the Highwind jerked to a complete halt, knocking its crew completely off balance. Then, very slowly, the ship began to peel backwards..

"What the hell?" Cid cursed, pressing the ship's thrusters harder. No matter how hard he pushed them, however, the ship continued its creeping descent. Looking at one of the monitors built into the control console, he and the others realized to their horror what had just happened. The Behemoth, having been thrown around by the Highwind's wild maneuvering, had landed _inside_ the portal gate, and was now in the process of being pulled through, thrashing and screaming.

The Avalanchers all looked at each other, aware that the mooring line, still attached to the Behemoth, was slowly being dragged through the gate as well..

"We're being pulled in!" Yuffie shouted, voicing the others' thoughts.

"This is bad.." Reeve said, holding onto the rails marking off the pilot area of the command deck for balance, as the ship trembled, caught in the gravity well that was the portal gate's center..

_"The ship's gonna get torn apart!"_ Cid thought. Nearly panicking, the pilot assaulted the airship's control console with a string of emergency commands, but to no avail. They might as well be caught in a black hole. The Highwind's fuselage shook hard as it neared the ground, being drawn into the far-too-small gate..

Then, the impossible happened.

The lifestream energy began to expand _beyond_ the gate, enveloping the airship as it drew closer, bathing everything around it in a brilliant jade light.

Cloud, standing at the back of the command deck, began to feel lightheaded again. But instead of fading out of consciousness, he experienced, amidst all the chaos, a brief moment of unprecedented clarity. He could see the past, present and future taking place before his eyes, could see how everything was _connected_. The civil war taking place thousands of years ago, the first Cetra colony being built on this world, the arrival of Jenova, ancient rites amongst the cities of the Ancients' homeworld, the rise of Shinra and their battle with the continent of Wutai, the endless experiments conducted to recreate Cetra, the pursuit of the Promised Land, Sephiroth, Hojo, the mountains of Nibelheim, Black Materia, the Reunion, the ruination of the Cetra colonies, bloodstained katanas, the old Emperor and the Crystal Palace, the forces at work behind it all.. The answer to all of this... just outside of his grasp..

Everything went white.

* * *

Reality exploded back into existence. Still inside the Highwind, the Avalanchers supported themselves against whatever solid object was closest to them, as the airship jarred intensely from its emergence on the other side of the gates. Looking at the aft monitor again, they saw that the gate they had just come through was no more, having been destroyed by the effort of bringing the Highwind through to the other side. All that remained of the gate were its broken arches, extending into the air..

The crew of the Highwind didn't have much time to ponder the implications of this turn of events, however, as the airship jerked forward again. They looked up to see the Behemoth, still caught in the mooring lines, charging blindly up the ruined city's streets, dragging the Highwind towards the dilapidated skyscrapers placed there.

"Goddamn, this thing just doesn't give up!" Barret shouted, bracing himself against the ship's control console. He and the others all looked out through the Highwind's front windshield, but their view was limited at best, as the drizzle that had been pouring down a few hours earlier on this world had now turned into a raging thunderstorm, its heavy rain obscuring their sight.

Reacting just in time to avoid being slammed into one of the hollowed-out skyscrapers, Cid turned the Highwind sharply to the right, crossing the structure with the mooring cable. The building, fortunately, had been weakened by untold years of decay, and the walls of its top floors gave way easily, as the Behemoth and the airship crossed past it, ripping the top half of the building clean off..

"Shit!" Cid exclaimed. "We have to lose those mooring lines, or that thing's gonna _kill_ us!"

"I'll take care of it!" Cloud replied, sheathing his sword, heading out the door.

"Wait!" Yuffie called. "Where are you going?"

"Just trust me." Cloud replied, placing his hand against the far wall of the deck for support. "I've got an idea.."

"But you're bleeding.." Yuffie protested.

"..It's nothing serious." Cloud lied.

"No, you can't.."

"There's no time!" Cloud cut her off, wincing slightly, trying hard to hide the extent of his injury. "Just keep this thing steady!" He instructed Cid. "I'm gonna take care of those mooring lines."

No sooner had the blond swordsman taken a few steps out onto the walkway leading from the command deck to the ship's main fuselage, than he stumbled again, nearly collapsing on the floor. He steadied himself on one knee, clutching at the exposed wires hanging up from the walkway for support, breathing hard.

Fighting off the effects of his concussion, he gripped one of the ship's railings for support, heading towards the cargo bay. As he made his way down the narrow steps leading to the cargo bay, he reached back, checking the wound on the back of his head again. The blond swordsman winced slightly at the pain from the contact. He retracted his hand again, seeing that his trademark black glove was now smeared with blood.

"Damnit.." He cursed quietly, continuing on his way down. He could taste blood in his mouth as well, and he was beginning to feel light-headed again..

Trying his best to ignore the throbbing pain in the back of his head, Cloud entered the lower cargo bay. He walked over to a control panel on the far wall, hitting the large, red button at the bottom of the panel with his fist. He was quickly greeted by a cold blast of air as the cargo bay's floor slid open, revealing a dizzying view of the ground below... and the rampaging Behemoth underneath the ship. The blond swordsman peered over the opening's edge. From where he stood, it was a long way down.

A _really_ long way down.

There was no chance that he would survive if he fell. And even if he did, there was little doubt that the enraged Behemoth would tear him into pieces the moment he landed on the ground, before he could even have a chance to get back on his feet..

With that in mind, Cloud leaned down over the gap in the floor, reaching for the mooring line closest to him. Gripping the thick steel cable firmly, he began to rappel downwards, out into the furious wind and rain, fighting to stay conscious. The beast below him had slowed down momentarily, leaving the mooring lines in an almost vertical position, allowing him to descend quickly.

About halfway down the line, the blond swordsman drew his Buster blade, swinging the heavy sword at the other mooring line with one hand. The blow connected, cutting into the thick cable. Feeling somewhat light-headed, Cloud loosened his sword again, preparing for a second strike, trying not to think about the long drop down. The second hit sliced into the cut he had just made, and the cable came loose, falling unceremoniously to the ground below.

As Cloud prepared to deal with the second cable, the Behemoth began moving again, charging down the streets. The mooring line went taut once again, dragging the Highwind downwards as the heavy-set monster broke into another run. The resulting friction, caused the blond swordsman to lose his grip momentarily, and he began to slide down the cable, towards the furious monster.

"Cid!" He called into his PHS. "Head for the gate!"

"What!?" The pilot replied.

"Just do it!"

No sooner had he called the last words into his PHS, than the Highwind began turning. He felt the mooring line's centripetal force change drastically, as the airship made a hard left turn, flying back towards the destroyed gate, towing the uncooperative Behemoth behind it. He held onto the slippery cable as hard as he possibly could, as the Highwind manoeuvred above the ruined city's streets, to keep from falling..

The Highwind came to a halt above the damaged gate, making a hard U-turn, swinging the bulky monstrosity that was the Behemoth into the air briefly as it did so. The monster landed back on its feet, looking more pissed off than ever..

"Raise the ship!" Cloud called into his PHS. "We need to get that thing off the ground!"

Cid obliged his request without arguing, pushing his airship's top rotor blades as hard as he possibly could. The Highwind slowly rose higher, the airship's whole fuselage creaking and groaning in protest of the abuse it was suffering.

"Kid! If you're gonna do something, do it now!" Cid's voice came over Cloud's PHS. "She can't take much more of this.."

Cloud brought his sword up again, hacking away at the thick steel cable, this time aiming at an area just below his knees. Before he could cut through the cable, however, the Behemoth intervened, lashing out with one of its tentacles. The serrated tentacle wrapped around Cloud's left leg, pulling him downwards. The blond swordsman let out a short cry of pain, as dozens of sharp needles shot out from the salient tentacle, digging into his skin..

The Behemoth, still suspended in the air, continued to drag the blond swordsman further down, reaching up towards him with its other tentacles, screaming maddeningly at him as its mouth split open in expectation. Cloud struggled to hold on and slow down his descent, but the beast's weight was far greater than his own. He glanced downwards. It was only a matter of seconds before the beast would latch onto him with the rest of its tentacles. And then it would all be over..

Not knowing what else to do, Cloud slashed frantically at the tentacle, wrapped tightly around his leg, but it was no use. The Behemoth was determined to bring him down. Looking up again, he saw that he had fallen beyond the weak point of the cable. Thinking quickly, he made up his mind. The ground was close enough, he decided. There was the barest chance that this might work..

"Fine." He said, eyeing the monster below him. "We'll go down together.."

With his free leg, he pressed himself against the mooring line, leaning out at an angle from the cable..

...Then, aiming up at its weak point, he swung hard, severing the thick cable in half.

He and the Behemoth both fell instantly, plummeting to the ground below. Cloud closed his eyes, waiting for the final impact. Not expecting to survive the fall, he at least took comfort in the last look he had seen in the Behemoth's eyes, namely one of utter surprise at what had just occurred..

The blond swordsman landed hard, crashing into a mound of rubble in the middle of the city square. The fact that he could feel pain from his harsh landing told him that he was still alive, but for the moment, he didn't really care much. He simply lay where he was, flat on his back, against the pile of debris, taking in one long, luxurious breath of air after another..

When he finally opened his eyes again, he saw the results of his actions. Just as he'd hoped, the Behemoth lay on the ground as well, turned over on its back. The enormous beast lay impaled on one of the portal gate's broken arches, its thick, black blood pooling all over the city square. The Behemoth unleashed an earth-shattering scream, thrashing about helplessly, unable to move, as its life force slowly drained from its body.

Cloud raised himself ever so slightly off the ground, resting on his hands and knees, dead tired, looking the great beast in the eye as it went through its death throes. He almost felt sorry for the dying animal as it began to quiet down, before finally fading from existence.

Almost.

Getting back to his feet at last, the blond swordsman slowly surveyed the scene, drawing in long, pained breaths of air. It felt as though everything in the world had slowed down, becoming clearer in the deafening silence that followed in the wake of the Behemoth's death. He simply stood there for a while, almost in disbelief at still being alive. He was faintly aware of the Highwind, still flying around somewhere overhead in the storm, his friends frantically calling his PHS to see if he was all right.

The realization finally struck him.

_They had done it._

The scourge of this world was no more. The Behemoth lay dead.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Hey, guys. I'm really sorry it took so long to get this latest chapter out. It was ready a couple of weeks ago, but there were some complications and stuff.. Anyway, I'm back in a writing mood now, so hopefully the next one won't be so long off. Stay tuned!

PS. Kudos to those who can figure out the double quotation at the head of the chapter.


	14. City Of Glass

_and so spoke the prophets  
as the mob had gathered 'round  
said their empire would soon crumble  
and fall down_

_and so they set sail  
across the land and seas alike  
in a quest to avoid  
the setting of the sun_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 14  
City Of Glass**

* * *

The reaction was one of utter surprise, sheer disbelief. 

The stunned Cetra crowd parted, backing away as the Behemoth's severed head was thrown unceremoniously onto the ground. The sight of the fallen beast's remains laying on the floor in front of them elicited gasps of surprise and awe from the whole crowd.

The Avalanchers stood opposite to the stunned onlookers, looking grizzled and tired, yet more determined than ever before, having vindicated themselves through the act of defeating the great beast.

Cloud, standing at the front of the group, eyed the Cetra's leader, Sigil, who was advancing to the front of the crowd. "I don't think he's hungry anymore." he said quietly, in a caustic tone of voice, directing his words at Sigil. Sigil said nothing, but simply stared directly into the blond youth's eyes, looking none too pleased. Cloud coolly returned his gaze, as he and the others waited for a reaction from the Cetra survivors.

"It's dead.." Someone at the back of the crowd murmured, voicing the Cetra people's thoughts, coming to terms with what they were seeing. "The Behemoth is dead."

The crowd remained completely silent for a moment. Then, suddenly, the whole ensemble broke out into wild cheers, applauding the Avalanchers' victory, their spirits momentarily lifted at the good news.

The Cetra people watched their rescuers with a newfound look of admiration. Sigil, however, did not seemed particularly pleased, despite the death of the Cetra's scourge. He crossed the space between the Cetra crowd and the Avalanchers, marked by the Behemoth's carcass, eyeing each of them critically, with a look of barely restrained anger in his eyes.

"You took my staff." Sigil uttered, seething, glaring at Cloud and the others.

"That's right." Vincent answered, cutting to the front of the group. "And we put it to good use, as well."

Sigil did not reply, but simply took back his staff from Tifa, who gave up the weapon with no protest. The old man gave them one last disdainful look, his face contorted with barely constrained anger, before walking away, heading back through the still-celebrating crowd.

"What now?" Yuffie asked.

"We keep moving." Cloud replied. "The gate leading back our world was destroyed, so we'll have to find another one, and soon."

Nanaki spoke up. "According to what I've learned, there should be a number of gates in the Crystal Palace. Or at least, there used to be.."

"Then that's where we'll go." Vincent surmised.

"You will not!" Sigil protested, turning around, marching hurriedly back towards the group of outsiders. "You will _not_ trespass upon hallowed ground." The Cetra leader ordered them. "It is expressly forbidden."

"To your people, perhaps." Cloud shot back, more than tired of the old man's difficult attitude. "Not to us."

Seeing that the Avalanchers would not be swayed, Sigil closed in towards them, lowering his staff. "Then understand this." He said to them, in a hushed voice. "If you choose to go out there, you go to your deaths."

Cloud glanced at the deceased Behemoth's head, laying upon the floor, now surrounded by curious onlookers. Then he returned his gaze towards Sigil. "Yeah.." He replied simply, before turning and heading back towards the surface. "We'll see about that."

* * *

"Hey! Wait!" 

The Avalanchers, halfway up the stairs leading from the main underground citadel, turned around to see Aya running up the steps after them.

"What is it?" Yuffie asked as the little Cetra girl approached them.

"You forgot this." Aya replied, breathless, holding out the dog tags that Cloud had entrusted her with earlier that day.

Cloud walked over Aya and knelt down in front of her. "I need you to hold onto them for a little longer." he told her. "Okay?"

"But everyone's all right." Aya replied. "There's no more danger up there, right? So I can come with you now, can't I?"

"Persistent, isn't she?" Tifa whispered to Vincent, who simply nodded.

Cloud shook his head slowly. "Aya... it's still dangerous out there. We can't take you with us. Please understand."

"But..." Aya protested weakly.

"I'm sorry." Cloud replied quietly, getting up again.

The Avalanchers turned away as Aya's foster family caught up with her, scolding her for straying from the group of children within their care.

"Wait!" Aya called again, reaching inside a pocket of her tattered white robe, procuring a small item from within. She ran over to the Avalanchers, depositing the small object in Cloud's hands. "Take this."

Cloud examined the object she had handed him, a small piece of materia on a string, albeit one unlike he had never seen before. The materia he held in his hands seemed to change colours ever so slightly, depending on the angle from which he looked at it. He wondered whether it had something to do with the orb's inherent magical properties, or if it was merely a trick of the light..

"For luck." Aya added, looking up at him and the others.

"I'll take good care of it." Cloud replied, tying the materia around his neck. Aya gave him and the others one last, warm smile, before rejoining the other children of her foster family.

The Avalanchers continued their trek up the tunnels leading to the outside. "Hey, kid." Cid spoke up, addressing the group's leader. "The ship's still pretty banged up, and our buggy's pretty much done for. We're gonna need some down-time to get'em back in shape. You know that, right?"

"I know." Cloud replied.

"So... how exactly did you plan on gettin' across that black muck out there?" The airship pilot asked.

Cloud paused for a moment, thinking. "Do we still have those life rafts on board the Highwind?" he asked.

"We should, if they didn't get tossed out during our scuffle earlier." Cid replied. "You sure you really wanna go sailing across that tar-pit? I swear, just lookin' at all that black crap gives me the willies.."

"Unless you have a better idea."

"Yeah, but... are you sure you don't want to wait, at least until we're done patching up the ship?" Reeve asked.

"No," Cloud replied. "we need to keep moving."

"What about patching ourselves up?" Yuffie pointed out.

"She's got a point." Reeve concurred. "You should really get that looked at." The former Turk indicated the numerous injuries that their group's leader had acquired during their battle earlier.

"I'll be fine in a minute." Cloud insisted. He knew that the Jenova cells within his body were hard at work taking care of his wounds. In that way, they weren't entirely a curse, he figured.

"So, who's stayin' and who's going?" Barret asked.

"Actually, I'd quite like to see what's lying on the other side." Nanaki spoke up.

"Yeah, same here." Tifa said.

"Me too." Yuffie chimed in.

"All right." Cloud said. "The four of us will move on ahead to the palace." He turned his attention to the remaining Avalanchers, consisting of Cid, Reeve, Barret and Vincent. "Link up with us over there once you're done, ok?"

"Awright, if you insist." Cid replied, idly rubbing the grizzled beard of his chin.

Cloud, along with Yuffie, Tifa and Nanaki moved onwards, walking slightly ahead of the latter group.

"Geez.." Cid muttered, shaking his head, lighting up a fresh cigarette as he watched the former group walking on ahead of them.

"Tell me about it." Reeve replied. "Most people would be asleep by now, or at least unconscious.."

"Most people would be six feet under by now, for that matter." Vincent spoke up, joining in their conversation.

"Most ordinary people, yeah." Cid replied, taking a long, slow drag from his cigarette. "But," he continued, stamping out the burned-out cigarette on the rock floor, "he ain't exactly ordinary, now is he?" he finished rhetorically, gesturing for the others to follow him. "C'mon, let's get to work."

* * *

The Highwind lay close to the shore of the black river dividing the two halves of the ancient city's ruins. The airship had suffered much abuse during their fight with the Behemoth and it showed. Large portions of the airship's outer hull were torn and cracked, and some entirely missing. Various cables and wires lay exposed, like innards ready to spill from a mangled cadaver. 

Cid Highwind rubbed his bristled chin, inspecting his beloved airship to see exactly how much damage it had sustained this time around. The pilot absent-mindedly kicked at a loose plate in the ship's outer fuselage, whose guarded contents looked as though they were ready to pour out onto the ground. There was a short pause, and then the whole section promptly crumbled into a heap of scrap.

"This might take a while.." The captain commented, sighing. He scratched the back of his head, glancing at the others, who were bringing out the repair tools from the cargo bay. Additionally, Cloud, Yuffie and Tifa were bringing out a black, rubber lifeboat, preparing it for their trek across the river.

"Tifa.." Vincent said, stopping his fiancée off. She nodded to the other two, signaling for them to continue towards the shore without her. Leaving them to their task, she turned her attention towards her lover.

Vincent said nothing else, but simply wrapped his arms around his beloved, holding her close. "Be careful out there," he whispered softly in her ear. He closed his eyes, taking in her sweet scent, caressing her long, black hair.

"I will be." Tifa whispered back, returning the embrace. The two of them pulled away ever so slightly, gazing into each others eyes, before closing together again in a passionate kiss.

_"Geez, get a room, already."_ Yuffie thought, subconsciously trying to stamp out the twinge of jealously tugging at her heart, at the sight of the two lovers, completely oblivious to their surroundings. She forced herself to focus on her work again, preparing the lifeboat for its maiden voyage.

Cloud, who had also been observing the two lovebirds, tried to busy himself with his task as well. As they continued their work, however, the two of them hazarded a glance at each other at the exact same moment, making eye contact, which they both shied away from almost immediately. They both pretended that they had been meaning to look at something else, resulting in a somewhat awkward moment between the two of them.

As they finally wrapped up the preparations on their new transport, the two of them sat down at the front of the lifeboat, taking a short breather, watching the others as they went about their business. Vincent and Tifa were bringing out some supplies, while Cid was busy yelling various obscenities at Reeve and Barret for manhandling his precious airship.

"Hey, Cloud?" Yuffie said, finally breaking the silence between the two of them.

"Yeah?" Cloud replied, looking over at the young ninja girl sitting beside him.

"You sure you want to do this tonight?" Yuffie asked. "I mean, aren't you even a _little_ bit tired? We can move out tomorrow, if you'd like to get some rest.."

Cloud shook his head slowly, looking down towards the ground. "No, it's ok." he replied. "I'd prefer to head out tonight."

"But why?" Yuffie asked, puzzled. "What's the rush?"

"I don't know why," Cloud answered "but I feel as though time is running out." It was true. The blond swordsman had no idea why, but he felt strangely compelled to keep moving, as though some invisible force were urging him on, guiding him towards the end of their journey, wherever that lay.

"Running out for what?" Yuffie pressed, curious.

"Don't know." Cloud replied simply. "Maybe it's nothing, but I'd like to keep moving all the same, if you don't mind."

Yuffie chuckled slightly, casting her gaze towards the rocky shore. "Same old Cloud." she said, swaying her legs back and forth lazily. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?" she added, looking back up at the blond swordsman sitting next to her. "Always worrying."

The young ninja looked back up at Cloud. "You know, if you keep frowning like that, someday your face will get stuck like that forever." Yuffie placed her hands on her cheeks, pulling down the epidermis around her eyes, making an exaggerated pouting expression, accompanied by growling noises. Her caricature caused both of them burst out into fits of laughter.

"See? You need to lighten up, spikes!" Yuffie added, punching him playfully on the arm. The two of them continued speaking for a little while in hushed voices, smiling and laughing occasionally, their hands almost touching.

As all of this was taking place, no-one noticed the tiny figure sneaking past them, carefully stowing away on their life-boat..

* * *

The mist gradually dissolved as the lifeboat sailed quietly across the black river. 

The river itself felt eerily still. The lifeboat hardly made any waves on the water as it passed across the city's divide. Tifa and the others noted how the black substance gave resistance as they rowed the boat, feeling more like tar or oil than water.

The Crystal Palace finally came into full view, as the boat touched upon the sandy, white shores on the other side. Even in its battered state, it was a magnificent piece of architecture, appearing as if it were something from a dream. The palace looked as though it might have been a city unto itself. Great towers and battlements rose from the steep walls surrounding the main structure, encircling a vast citadel.

The signs of war had set its mark upon the place, however, along with the relentless crawl of the centuries following its abandonment. On the beach, solid shards and columns of crystal rose from the sand, extending several feet into the air, having been splintered from the Palace during some terrible struggle during the Cetra's war with the Astra. The whole beach was strewn with centuries-old shrapnel and debris from the Crystal Palace.

The whole area felt eerily quiet..

"Doesn't look like anyone's home." Tifa commented, leaving the boat and moving up onto the beach.

"Stay alert." Cloud warned them, scouting the area, one hand placed on the hilt of his sword, in case they didn't turn out to be as alone as they seemed.

Nanaki rumbled his consent. "Indeed, we must be careful. From what Sigil told me earlier, there are bad things here."

"Like what?" Yuffie asked.

"He didn't elaborate." Nanaki replied simply.

"Great." The young ninja replied, walking up the beach, heading towards the palace along with the rest of the group. "I _love_ surprises."

* * *

Amazing as the outside appearance of the Crystal Palace was, its exterior paled in comparison with the grandeur of its interior. The whole edifice seemed to be one giant work of art, composed of rooms and archways lined with intricately designed statues and columns, all carved out of the same radiant substance as the rest of the palace. 

There was not a soul to be seen there. The emptiness of the place made it hard for the Avalanchers not to imagine the life that must have inhabited these ruins at one point in history. The thought only served to enhance the ghostly atmosphere of the place, which was further augmented by the way the light played softly across the marble-like surfaces of the palace's walls.

Most of the floors and walls were covered with fine layers of dust, which had spread out into the air, filtering through the cool blue light, making it difficult to see very far. As they walked through the hallowed halls of the palace, the Avalanchers could almost swear that they could hear whispers coming from the rooms as they passed, echoes of the past..

Trailing a short distance behind them was their stowaway, careful to stay out of sight, yet making certain that she didn't lose them. So far, their explorations hadn't yielded any results, only a handful of empty rooms and corridors, some untouched, most scored with craters and miscellaneous damage from the war.

Suddenly, Cloud drew his sword, going into his battle stance for no apparent reason.

"What is it?" Tifa asked warily.

Cloud looked around for a second, before sheathing his sword again. "I thought I saw something." He replied. He could have sworn that he'd seen a shadow moving in one of the corners in front of them.

"You're just tired." Tifa said.

"She's right." Yuffie spoke up, joining in their conversation. "You've been pushing yourself too hard. You need to get some rest."

Cloud sighed, realizing that they were right. As he relaxed from his battle stance, he noticed that he was truly beginning to feel tired. Fatigue was sinking in, and he hadn't even noticed it..

"All right." Cloud replied. "We'll head up the West tower. We can seal it off and get some sleep."

* * *

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" 

The view from the tower overlooking the crystalline city was simply breathtaking. The sight of the skyline's ever-present aurora cascading across the curved surfaces of the Crystal Palace was mesmerizing, to say the least. Coupled with the view of the ashen city ruins in the distance, the vista stretching out before them became otherworldly in appearance. It was beautiful, all right.

But he wasn't looking at the view.

"Yeah... it is.." He replied quietly, hazarding another look at the person sitting next to him.

He wasn't sure exactly how long they had been sitting there. Tifa and Nanaki had gone to sleep a good while ago, as far as he could tell. He had decided to take a moment to examine their surroundings from on high, and she had joined him a few minutes later. They had been sitting together in amiable silence for a while now, just resting and relaxing for once.

Cloud held his gaze a while longer than usual. Their rest spell had afforded him the opportunity to study his partner in greater detail than before, and he was finding it harder to keep his eyes off her. He was beginning to notice the small details of her face, dimples of her cheeks, the light freckles scattered here and there... the soft light of her silvery, grey eyes.

_"Beautiful.."_

She seemed calmer than before, more mature in a way. It made him ever so slightly worried that her normally buoyant personality had been subdued somewhat by recent events. It would be a terrible tragedy, he thought, if the energetic young ninja he had known were ever lost in that way.

Finally, she seemed to notice that he was looking at her, and had been for a while. Blushing slightly, she smiled at him, hugging her knees to protect herself from the cold air. "So..." Yuffie spoke up, breaking the silence. "Where do we go from here?"

Cloud blinked, roused from his reverie by her voice. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean, what are we really looking for out here?" She replied, looking out at the view again.

"I'm not sure." He answered thoughtfully. "But... something's calling out to me." He added. ..."And I'm not sure I want to know what it is."

He regretted parting with the information the second he had uttered the sentence. _"I must sound like I'm going crazy."_ He thought wryly. _"Not that it would be the first time.."_

To his surprise, the girl sitting next to him sidled up closer, placing her hand on top of his, gazing directly into his eyes, a sincere look on her face. "Whatever it is you're looking for out here.. we'll find it." She said softly. "And we'll face it..._together_. Ok?"

"Yeah.."

The two of them drew nearer. They both knew it was the moment they had been waiting for... Closing their eyes, they both leaned in closer, savouring the anticipation for a second, before finally brushing their lips against each others'.

They held the kiss for a moment, before pulling away again. Somehow, it had felt slightly awkward, restrained. Cloud looked at Yuffie again, who now had an unreadable expression in her eyes.

Breaking away from his gaze, she rose up, stretching her legs. "Good night, Cloud." she whispered, before heading back towards her cot.

"...Good Night." Cloud replied, casting one last, lingering look back at her, before turning his gaze back towards the vista below. A few moments later, he finally decided to join the others in the realm of sleep.

He lay down next to the young ninja, who was already half-asleep. The two of them huddled together underneath the blankets to ward off the cold. Despite the momentary warmth and comfort that they were enjoying, a feeling of dread crept upon him, which he tried to shake off as he allowed sleep to overtake his senses.

In the corner of the room, one of the shadows stirred. The creature watched its new visitors with a curious fascination, as it had done throughout the day, ever since they had arrived at the Palace.

Tomorrow, it would kill them. For now, it was content, it decided, to watch..

* * *

**Author's notes:**

Geez, It's really been a while, huh? Hope you guys are still with me. I guess I should make the usual excuses. Uni work has kept me swamped for the past couple of months, and my muse subsequently took a long, (and paid) vacation. But I'm not giving up on this story. I'll finish it yet, mark my words!

Now, there seems to be some confusion about the story, in regards to the characters' current location. Just so we're clear: This story does not involve time travel. The characters are stuck on another world, which has existed longer than their own. (Trust me, it'll make more sense later on). Also, Sigil's name is simply something that has been passed down through the generations. Hope everything's clear now, but if not, then send me a comment and I'll be happy to explain. Stay tuned!


	15. Morbid Angel

_A heretical existence  
Entangled in chaos  
Blessed are the sick  
Reveling in formulas fatal to the flesh  
Praying at the altars of madness_

_Death's covenant  
Unfolding gateways to annihilation  
Vying for domination, behold  
A morbid angel descends_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires  
Chapter 15  
Morbid Angel**

* * *

_Pillars.._

_There were endless rows of pillars, extending in every direction. The hall itself seemed to stretch on forever, its marble floor fading into the blinding light at its edges._

_As he strained to see through the haze, he began to make out a figure, standing some distance away from him. Despite the hall's hazy, ubiquitous luminescence, the figure appeared to be completely shrouded in shadow, pitch black from top to bottom.._

_"It's... her?" he thought._

_The shadowed figure stood in the middle of the seemingly endless hall, waiting patiently for him. "Aerith?" he whispered, holding up one hand to shield his eyes from the piercing light._

_"Come here..." the figure beckoned. "I have something to show you.."_

_Moving closer, he took one slow step after another, struggling to move, as though he were walking through water. The world around him felt hazy and slow, as if in a dream.._

_"You're almost there.." the soft voice encouraged, "It's just a little further now.." _

_As he reached out to her, his senses began to overwhelm him. Suddenly, the world around him felt like it was closing in, contracting all around him, drawing nearer, becoming brighter, louder, almost intolerably so. As the intensity of his illusion reached its peak, for a split-second, every nerve in his body sent waves of pain coursing through his being, warning him to escape..._

"Cloud?" Tifa's voice came, bringing the blond swordsman back to reality.

"Huh?" Cloud replied, momentarily rattled by his return to the real world.

"Glad you're back with us." Tifa said sardonically. "You were spacing out there for a second."

Cloud shook his head, as if to cast off the lingering imagery of his waking dream. "Right... sorry." he apologized sheepishly. _"I must still be tired.."_ he thought to himself, rejoining the others in exploring the Palace.

He and the others had resumed their exploration of the Palace that morning. Cid and his half of the Avalanche crew were still working on patching up the Highwind, as far as they knew, so there wasn't much else to be done. So far, their search had turned up little more than the one of the day before. Vast, empty halls, dusty corridors riddled with debris and rubble, and little else worth mentioning.

Keeping up the pace with the others, Cloud glanced over at Yuffie, who was idly pacing down the corridor, a dull expression on her face. She had been strangely quiet and distant that morning, Cloud noted. Guiltily, he realized that he could have been more reciprocating towards her advances last night. Perhaps she was angry at him?

It hadn't really occurred to him, but whenever there was a difficult or dangerous situation to be dealt with, he was used to simply shutting down, submerging his personality. Perhaps he was getting too used to that, he thought.. It was keeping others from getting close to him, and that was the last thing he wanted now.

_"Better try and patch things up between us, if there is anything wrong," _he thought, walking over to the girl.

"Hey." He spoke up.

"Hey.." Yuffie replied. She sounded tired, but friendly enough. Cloud hoped that maybe he had been worrying about nothing.

A short pause. Then Yuffie spoke up. "Listen," she started, hesitant. "About last night, I.."

Cloud's looked at Yuffie with interest as she spoke. He waited for the her to continue, when suddenly his PHS began to ring, interrupting their conversation.

_"Damn it.."_ Cloud cursed mentally. "Just a sec.." he said, digging his PHS out of his pocket, giving Yuffie an apologetic look. "Yeah?" he answered, sounding slightly irritated.

"Hey, it's me." Cid's voice came over the phone. "Got any good news for us?"

"No luck so far." Cloud replied. "We'll let you know as soon as we spot any gates. How are the repairs on the Highwind going?" he asked.

"Pretty damn good, considering the beating she took." Cid answered proudly. "We should have this baby back in the air in a couple of hours."

"Great." Cloud replied. "And the buggy?"

Cloud heard Cid sigh heavily on the other end of the line. "Still pretty mangled. We've loaded it into the cargo bay for now, but it'll take a while longer before it's up and running again."

"All right. Keep me posted." Cloud said.

"Will do, boss." Cid replied, before hanging up.

"I'm sorry." Cloud said to Yuffie, placing his PHS back in his pocket. "You were saying?"

Yuffie made a dismissive gesture. "No, it's nothing.." She replied dolefully. By the look on her face and the tone of her voice, Cloud knew that there was something eating her up, but decided not press the issue for now. He didn't really know how to deal with these kinds of situations, so he decided to simply wait, hoping that things would eventually sort themselves out. Besides, he thought, they had bigger things to worry about at the moment..

_"Always time for such things later, right, Strife?"_ a voice inside his head asked in a mocking tone of voice. _"Just keep putting personal matters off. They can wait. Just as they did last time.."_

"Shut up.." Cloud whispered.

"What's that?" Nanaki asked, picking up on the blond swordsman's verbal slip.

Cloud glanced over at his red-maned companion, then simply shook his head dismissively. Nanaki gave the young man a sympathetic look, but decided not to ask.

Yuffie shivered, looking over her shoulder yet again. The young ninja didn't know why, but for some reason she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. She felt like there was something following them, but whenever she turned around to look for it, it was gone. Then, when she resumed her walk, it seemed as though the presence would slither back into existence, always faintly there, at the edge of perception..

"Yuffie?" Tifa spoke up. "What is it?"

"Never mind." Yuffie replied. "I'm probably just imagining things."

"Indeed." Nanaki said. "This place is so desolate, it's causing our imaginations to run wild."

"Maybe." Cloud spoke up. "But stay on your guard. If Sigil was telling the truth, we could run into_anything_ here.."

* * *

"No, you numbskulls! That's a gas welder!! I told you to get an _arc_ welder!!" 

Cid Highwind, standing on top of the Highwind's observation deck, was busy yelling orders at Reeve, Vincent and Barret, who were working on the final repairs to Cid's airship. Cid had been quite occupied with slave-driving the three of them for the last couple of hours, and it showed. The Highwind, though still in a battered state, was looking much better than the day before, and was close to sky-worthy again.

"Good-for-nothing.." Cid muttered, sighing and digging around in his jacket pocket for a cigarette. He was running low on his favorite Lady Luck brand, Cid noted. If they didn't get off this god-forsaken rock soon, he thought, he might have to go _without_ smoking for gods knew how long. The thought made his skin crawl.

Cid had just finished lighting up his cigarette, and was inhaling his first breath of the sweet tar, when he spotted several people on the ground, walking towards the Highwind. The group was composed of several Cetra warriors, led by Sigil himself.

_"Well, this can't be good.."_ Cid thought, chomping down on his cigarette as he watched the strange congregation approach his airship..

* * *

Cloud's PHS rang again. 

"Cloud here." the blond swordsman answered wearily.

"Hey, chief?" Cid's voice came over the phone again, sounding somewhat distressed.

"Yeah, what is it?" Cloud asked, noting the odd tone in Cid's voice.

"Some of the Cetra people are up here on the surface, hollerin' at us. They look kinda ornery." Cid answered.

"What do they want?" Cloud asked, concerned.

"Wha-? Just a sec..." Cid replied, cutting off the conversation for a second. Then his voice came back on the phone. "They say that little girl, whatshername... Aya... that's it. They say she's gone missing." Cid replied.

"Missing?" Cloud repeated.

"Yeah. Apparently she strayed away from home again. " Cid replied. "She wouldn't happen to be with you guys, by any chance?"

"We haven't seen her since yesterday." Cloud answered matter-of-factly.

"Ok, just checking. Cid out."

"What was that?" Tifa asked, curious, as Cloud placed the phone back in his pocket.

"It's Aya." Cloud informed the group. "She's gone missing. They thought she might be with us, but.." he trailed off, noticing the look on Yuffie and Tifa's faces as they glanced at each other, dismayed. "What is it?" he asked.

"Some of our rations disappeared this morning." Tifa explained. "We just figured one of us might have been hungrier than usual, but.."

"She really might be here in the palace with us." Yuffie finished.

_"Perfect.."_ Cloud thought sarcastically. He looked at the others, nodding. "All right. Let's keep our eyes peeled."

About half an hour passed, as the four of them continued to trail aimlessly through the vast ruins of the Crystal Palace, the eerie silence and the ethereal blue light permeating the walls their only company.

"Geez, this place goes on _forever_.." Yuffie complained tiredly, as they reached the end of another long corridor. The door led into a vast hall, in which a large set of crystal steps beset by pillars led up to a higher floor of the palace.

As they entered the hall, the Avalanchers noticed a small figure walking up the stairs. The already small person was made to seem even tinier by the vastness of the room, but there was no mistaking who it was..

"Aya..?"

The little girl turned, spotting the four of them standing at the entrance to the hall. A panicked look fell upon her face, and she turned around again, rushing up the tall steps.

"Wait! Come back!" Cloud called after her. He and the others dashed up the broken steps, chasing after the girl. Aya reached the second floor first, running inside the corridor at the top of the steps. The Avalanchers followed, reaching the entrance just in time to see the little Cetra girl duck inside a room to their right. The corridor itself, they noticed, was blocked off by rubble, leaving no other path available.

Following her into the room, they spotted Aya's silhouette as she disappeared through a broken wall leading into another room connected to the first one. As they ran after her into the second room, they spotted the little girl crawling through a small crack in the wall to their left, leading back to the main corridor. The crack, they all saw, was far too small for anyone other than a small child to pass through.

"Damn it!" Cloud cursed. "You go this way," he said, gesturing for Tifa and Yuffie to try the third room, again made accessible via a hole in the wall. "Red, you come with me," he finished, heading back out the way he came in. As he had noticed just seconds ago, access to the rest of the corridor was blocked off by a large pile of rubble and debris. However, Cloud noticed, there was a small opening at the top of the pile of debris..

Acting quickly, he climbed to the top of the pile, and began to claw away at the mound, removing the rocks as fast as he could. Nanaki came up next to him, trying to squeeze through the growing hole in the wall.

"She's getting away!" Nanaki growled, seeing Aya running further down the corridor on the other side of the blockade.

Meanwhile, Yuffie and Tifa rushed inside the third room, only to find the exit blocked off by more rubble. "Crap.." Tifa cursed under her breath. "There's no way through."

Without replying, Yuffie turned around, heading back inside the second room. Kneeling down next to the crack in the wall, she started to hack away at the chipped crystal.

"Yuffie, what are you doing?" Tifa asked perplexed, following the young ninja back into the room.

"Making a way." Yuffie replied tersely, before ducking into the enlarged opening. She struggled to fit, just barely making it through to the other side.

Getting up again, the young ninja bumped into Nanaki, who had just managed to force his way through the blockade on his side. Glancing over to her left, Yuffie noticed that Cloud was making his way through the rubble as well.

"Hurry!" Nanaki called, dashing past her, running down the corridor after Aya.

Yuffie started down the corridor as well, chasing after the little girl as she ducked inside another room, this time on the left side of the corridor. Before either of them could catch her, however, the little girl slipped inside a narrow crawlspace in the corner of the room.

"Wait!" Yuffie called. Being the thinnest of the group, the young ninja launched herself at the crawlspace, reaching after the little girl. Aya, however, had already gotten too far inside, and much to Yuffie's chagrin, she was too big to follow her..

"I.. can't... fit!" Yuffie seethed, frustrated, just as Tifa and Cloud entered the room.

"Where is she?" Tifa asked.

"She went through there." Yuffie replied, gesturing at the crawlspace. "We _almost_ had her."

"Calm down." Cloud said, looking up. "We still might."

The others glanced up as well, to see what he was looking at so intently. Yuffie grinned mischievously as she realized what he was getting at. "Of course.. Think _vertical_," she said to the others.

The roof above the room they were standing in had collapsed, leaving a large opening in the ceiling, not to mention plenty of debris at the corners of the room for them to climb. Without any further words exchanged, all four of them began to climb up different piles of debris at the edges of the room, clambering onto the roof of the Palace.

The four of them emerged on top of the Palace's second floor roof. Outside, the light was nearly blinding. The heat haze, magnified by the refraction of the sun's light off the Palace's crystalline blue walls, didn't help either. Taking a second to recover from the harsh change in brightness, the four of them let their eyes adjust to the hazy daylight outside. From what they could tell, they were situated somewhere in the center of the Palace. On all sides, they were surrounded by the tall towers and high walls, the Palace's center being sunk in the middle of the great battlements around them..

"This way!" Cloud gestured, heading roughly in the direction they had last seen Aya move in. Following him, the others began to scramble over the domed rooftops of the Crystal Palace as quickly as they could, leaping over any chasms and rifts that had formed between many of the rooms and corridors over the years.

As they drew near the center of the roof, they heard a panicked cry coming from below. Looking down through the semi-transparent crystal roof, they saw Aya, running a short distance ahead of them, fleeing from something... _something other than themselves._

One of the wolf-like greys was coming after the little girl, chasing her through the palace corridors. Doubling their efforts, the Avalanchers ran as fast as they possibly could in an effort to catch up with them.

Suddenly, inside the Palace, the floor simply dropped off sharply into a seemingly bottomless chasm. Aya came to an abrupt halt, nearly losing her balance and falling over the edge. The little girl managed to regain her balance, turning around just in time to see the grey catch up with her.

Aya's eyes widened. Everything seemed to moving in slow motion. With its jaws parted, the beast leapt up into the air, heading straight for her. She screamed, raising her hands in the faint hope that she might shield herself from the attack..

At that moment, just as the monstrous grey was about to collide with the Cetra girl, it stopped dead in the air. More precisely, something heavy, falling on top of the animal from above had _forced_ it to stop, and subsequently fall to the ground, mere inches away from the girl.

Reacting with lightning reflexes, Cloud had leapt up, sword drawn, smashing through the thin glass fabric of the Palace's roof, showering shards of crystal over the whole floor. Bringing all of his weight down, he had driven his sword edge-first through the beast's head as it leapt up, killing it instantly as they both crashed to the ground in front of the panicked Cetra girl.

Ignoring the small cuts and bruises he had received from his little stunt, the blond swordsman stood up again, dislodging his sword from the dead animal's head. He looked over his shoulder to see the other Avalanchers descending into the room as well, before turning his attention back to Aya. "It's ok.." he whispered, sheathing his sword, walking over to the shuddering, panic-stricken girl, reaching out to her with one hand. "You're ok."

Aya said nothing, but jumped up, pulling the blond swordsman into a tight hug. He could tell by her rapid breathing that she was scared out of her wits. Tears were streaking down her face. "I'm sorry.." she whispered apologetically in her language. "I'm sorry.."

"Uh, guys?" Yuffie spoke up, breaking up their little reunion. The ninja was glancing warily around the room. Releasing his grip on Aya, Cloud looked over to see what was the matter.

The others were already settling into their battle stances. "We've got company.." Tifa said, keeping her eyes focused on the advancing threat. A _horde_ of greys, easily twenty or more, was making its way into the room, slowly encircling the group.

Facing away from the chasm at the back of the large room, the four Avalanchers formed a protective semi-circle around Aya, with Yuffie taking the right, Cloud the left, and Tifa and Nanaki guarding the center. "Here!" Yuffie called, tossing her Desert Eagle over to Tifa, seeing as she had no means of attacking at long range. Tifa grimaced slightly, but did her best to suppress her intense disliking of guns. "Thanks.." she replied, brandishing the weapon as the advancing greys closed in on them.

All of them braced themselves as the first wave of greys launched themselves into an attack. Cloud brought his sword about in a fast, upward-slanting horizontal arc as the first grey leapt at him, swinging his sword with both hands, carving the oncoming beast neatly in half as he sidestepped its attack. Then, bringing the sword back to the right with a quick one-handed stroke, he batted away another one as it jumped up, slicing its face wide open, sending it crashing to the ground in a crumpled heap, stone cold dead.

Yuffie slashed away wildly at her attackers with her combat shuriken, holding them off through sheer force of speed. Reacting to the young ninja's tactic, one of the greys bit down on her shuriken, forcing Yuffie into a vicious tug-of-war while the other greys on either side of it recovered from her attack. Screaming in frustration, Yuffie punched and kicked away furiously at the monster's face, finally breaking its hold on her weapon, just in time to dodge an attack from the other two greys. Having dislodged her combat shuriken, Yuffie nimbly ducked underneath the other two greys as they leapt up at her, clawing at the empty air.

Tifa, left with few options, combat-wise, simply pointed her gun at the pack of advancing greys, and began firing wildly, trying to stave off the closest ones. The gun's enormous recoil took her by surprise, causing her to lose her bearings momentarily. As one of the greys got in too close and began charging towards her, Tifa lowered her gun, bracing herself. As the beast surged up into the air, Tifa snapped up her leg, twisting her whole body into a _brutal _roundhouse kick, one that connected perfectly with the monster's head. _Just as Zangan had taught her_, she thought. The sharp, forceful blow smashed the grey back in the opposite direction, causing it to turn in mid-air, exposing the underside of its head. Recovering from the kick, Tifa didn't miss a beat, instantly bringing her Desert Eagle up again. At that range, it was hard to miss..

Tifa's shot was dead on. Whatever was left of a brain in the diseased animal's head splashed out through the back of its skull as the .50 caliber bullet simply _punched _right through its head. It was dead before it hit the ground. The other greys surrounding it backed away slightly as its body crashed to the ground with a dull thud, kicking up a layer of dust.

For his part, Nanaki was caught between a rock and a hard place, being largely unable to fight the advancing enemy due to their shape being too similar to his own. As such, he was stuck fending them off without being able to directly engage them. It seemed that their Jenova-infused enemies still harbored some trace of their old animal instincts, which allowed him to keep them at bay by standing his ground and claiming his territory. Nanaki bared his fangs, emitting a low, primal growl, almost digging his claws into the hard floor.

Yuffie assessed her situation. The young ninja was still surrounded by three greys, having dodged a simultaneous attack from two of them. With more of the aggressive beasts advancing on her, she acted quickly, spinning around in a circle whilst holding out her combat shuriken, hitting all three of her enemies in one fluid motion with its edges. The shuriken's razor-sharp blades sliced clean through their heads and necks, sending black blood spraying across the crystalline ground.

As she reached the end of her circular motion, Yuffie brought her combat shuriken down in a deadly arc, releasing the aerodynamic weapon from her hand. The oversized shuriken flew through the air, cutting through several more greys as they closed in on her. Left momentarily unprotected as her combat shuriken completed its long, semi-circular flight across the hall, she began bombarding the rest of the greys with smaller throwing stars and anything else she could dig out of her pockets in an effort to hold them back..

Cloud doggedly held his ground in spite of the sheer number of enemies rushing his side of the protective semi-circle, keeping the attacking monsters at bay with carefully timed swings, slicing through any unfortunate greys that ventured too close to him. However, as he took down one of the wolf-like beasts coming at his left, another one quickly made for the opening on his right, moving towards the now-open gap between him and Tifa, heading straight for the little girl seeking shelter behind the Avalanchers.

"Aya!" Yuffie called, spotting the stealthy grey just in time, as she finally recovered her combat shuriken from the air. Before she could react to this unexpected event, however, another grey came at her, forcing her to stay and fight. The young ninja threw herself into a swift back-flip, bringing her right foot up slightly after her left, allowing it to connect with the monster's jaw. The sheer force of the upward motion instantly snapped the monster's spine with a sickening crack. Landing in a kneeling position, still slightly jarred from her manoeuvre, Yuffie turned her head sharply to check back on Aya, only to confirm what she had feared. She was too late...

Cloud, on the other hand, had heard her call Aya's name, and managed to react in the nick of time. The blond swordsman had looked up at the sound of Yuffie's voice, only to see the grey slip past his defences. With only seconds to react, he turned towards Aya, tackling her to the ground an instant before the grey reached her. Wrapping his left arm around the small Cetra girl's shoulder, Cloud pushed the two of them into a roll, slicing upwards with his sword as they spun on the ground, cutting the charging grey's head clean off as it bounded over them. Aya screamed, scared out of her wits, as the headless body came to an ungraceful halt on the floor next to them.

As they made to get up, Cloud spotted another grey charging towards them. "Duck!" he shouted, pushing Aya down to the floor again, covering her as best he could. As a result, the speeding beast leapt clean _over_ them, falling into the deep chasm behind them. Finally drawing Aya and himself to their feet, Cloud brandished his buster sword in his right hand, with the little girl held up in his left arm, ready to fend off any more attackers headed their way.

Two more greys rushed at them, making the most of the opening that had now appeared in the Avalanchers' defensive perimeter. Cloud struck both of them down with relative ease, balancing Aya in his off hand as he made his way back to his part of the semi-circle. The number of monsters was steadily decreasing, he noticed, but even so, he knew that the girl in his arms was becoming a liability in this fight. "Someone get her out of here!" he called, as he reached his spot, putting Aya back down.

Realizing that he would not be much use in fighting other four-legged beings, Nanaki ran up to the two of them, biting down on the cloth of Aya's sleeve, hauling her off out of the circle and away from the fight. Reacting to the change in formation, Cloud, Yuffie and Tifa drew slightly back, decreasing the diameter of their semi-circle in order to cover more ground. The three of them focused their efforts, taking down as many greys as they could, thinning out the advancing monsters' numbers until there were only a few left.

As they managed to reduce the number of greys down to the last four, Tifa's Desert Eagle went dry with a hollow 'click'. "Crap!" the martial artist cursed. "I'm out!" she called to the others, turning back just in time to see a grey jumping right on top of her. Bringing her hands up just in time, Tifa caught the animal's thick neck in one hand as she fell to the ground, forced down by the beast's sheer weight. The salivating grey brought its full weight down, biting away at her face as she struggled on the ground to get free. But the ravenous beast was simply too heavy... Clutching the monster's neck with her right hand to hold off its assault, Tifa reached for something, _anything_, lying on the ground that might help her.

She found something. Something _sharp_..

Pushing the grey's head up ever so slightly, Tifa slashed away at its neck with a razor-sharp shard of crystal, left on the floor from Cloud's entrance only moments earlier. The effect was instantaneous. Black blood gushed over everything as the grey's neck was _torn_ open, taking the animal by complete surprise. Using this opportunity, Tifa kicked the monster off of her, rising up again, drenched in the claret liquid. The grey fell over on its side, twitching in its death throes.

Charging forward, Cloud rammed his sword down the throat of one of the remaining greys, twisting the large beast clear off its feet as he turned his blade upside down, dislodging it again, its edges cutting the monster open from the _inside_ as it slid back out.

Yuffie, settled back into her battle stance, combat shuriken held confidently in her right hand, stared down at the last grey heading for her. A sly grin crossed her face as the monster closed in. _"This is too easy.."_ the young ninja thought.

As the raging beast was about to hit her, she suddenly launched herself up into an aerial cartwheel, neatly slicing through the back of the beast's head as she reached the apex of her jump. The monster roared in pain, faltering momentarily as it was struck. The blow, however, had not been enough to kill the beast, Yuffie noticed as she landed. Indeed, the grey was turning around, preparing for another assault. But this time, it didn't have the advantage of a running start..

As the furious beast sprung up, making to leap forward again, Yuffie met its attack with full force, driving the edge of her combat shuriken right through its face. With a final battle cry, the young ninja dislodged her weapon by kicking the grey's body clear off of it, sending the animal flying off the edge of the chasm, howling pathetically as it fell to its death.

The three of them turned in unison to face the last of the greys. The beast simply stood there for a moment, staring at them, unsure of what to do next. Its Jenova-infused instincts told it to attack them without any hesitation. But deep inside what little was left of the predator's subconscious, something was telling it that it should be running away right now. _Fast_.

That part of the beast's mind seemed to win it over, finally, as it began to turn and slowly walk away from the battleground and the slew of dead bodies all around it. Cloud, Yuffie and Tifa all breathed a collective sigh of relief, lowering their guard at last.

As they turned to rejoin Nanaki and Aya, however, they heard a low growl emanating from the vast doorway leading into the hall. The grey had turned around again, and was snarling at them, seething. The three of them raised their weapons again as the beast took off, running towards them as if it were possessed.

It never had a chance..

The three of them allowed the monster to approach them, then sprung the trap. Slicing in a downward arc, blunt edge first, Cloud forced the beast to fall _in between_ the three of them. Yuffie and Tifa were quick to act on his cue. Before the monster could recover from its blow on the head, Tifa had caught a hold in between its forelegs. Groaning with the effort, she momentarily raised the beast up onto its _hind_ legs, exposing the underside of its body, before kicking it sharply in the back of its spine, shattering the bone into pieces. As the beast fell back to the ground, Cloud and Yuffie executed a final, simultaneous strike, Cloud to the body, Yuffie to the head.

What remained of the beast was a pitiful sight. Its body had been split into three by the attack. The upper part of the body, now bent at an obscene angle, thanks to Tifa's devastating kick, had continued falling forward. The lower half, however, had been severed by Cloud's blade in mid-air, and thus stopped just short of where the animal's nose and mouth had been separated from its face, courtesy of Yuffie's combat shuriken.

The three of them stood over the remains of the final grey, their clothes now stained with black blood from their fight, as well as some more vital-looking red leaking from their own wounds.

"Nothing like a little teamwork, huh guys?" Yuffie spoke up, grinning, wiping away some of the blood and sweat from her brow.

Cloud and Tifa both looked at her. The look in Cloud's eyes was a mixture of concern and fatigue, but the look in Tifa's eyes might as well have read, _"Shut up, wise-ass.."_

Without any further words exchanged, the three of them left the hallway-turned-battleground to meet up with Aya and Red XIII, who were waiting for them in a corridor branching off deeper into the palace..

* * *

"I'm sorry about running away earlier," Aya said. "I just thought you'd be angry with me.." 

The five of them were gathered in a small antechamber, not far from the hallway they had fought in a few minutes ago. Yuffie was busy tending to Nanaki's wounds while Tifa mended her own. Aya was sitting on the elevated base of one of two large statues adorning the room. Cloud was kneeling down in front of her, taking care of some cuts and bruises on her leg which she had received earlier during the battle.

"...Are you angry?" she asked, hesitant, examining Cloud's face for any hint of expression that might betray his mood.

Finishing his work on patching up Aya's leg, Cloud stood up again, looking her in the eye. Even if he had wanted to be mad at her, it was almost impossible for him to bring himself to berate the poor, innocent child. One look into those pure, icy blue eyes would make anyone think twice about doing so..

"We're not mad at you," he replied quietly. Aya smiled at him. A big, warm smile.

"But you can't stay here," Cloud added. "We have to take you back."

"...I know," Aya replied, turning her gaze downwards. There was no hint of protest in her voice, only tired surrender.

"Cid's not answering his PHS," Yuffie pointed out, walking up next to Cloud. "So it doesn't look like we'll be getting a lift anytime soon."

"We should keep moving for now," Tifa suggested. "Who knows how many more of those things are prowling around here."

"Good idea," Cloud replied. "C'mon," he said to Aya, lifting the girl up off the statue's base, guiding her towards the room's exit.

"Guys..." Nanaki spoke up. "You might want to take a look at this.."

"What is it?" Yuffie asked, turning towards the animal scholar, who was standing in the doorway at the far end of the antechamber, the one leading further into the palace, staring at something in fascination.

Entering the room, the five of them were faced with a breathtaking sight. They had entered an absolute immense chamber, wide and circular, with a domed roof from which hung several bowls of fire suspended by heavy chains. Flanking the circular walls were a number of large, impressive-looking statues set in alcoves carved out in perfect symmetry. But the most striking feature of the room was where it led..

Cloud, Yuffie, Tifa, Nanaki and Aya found themselves standing on a balcony of sorts, one lacking any kind of railing to keep them from falling over the edge. Looking over it, they saw the far end of the chamber, several miles down below. Two long, semi circular flights of steps lead down towards the centre of the room, each flight of stairs flanked by large, ornamental torches, amazingly still burning after decades or centuries of abandonment.

"Whoa.." Yuffie muttered, awed by the sight. She spoke of the rest of the group, which was equally stunned, quietly reverent as they slowly took in their new surroundings.

Moving on, Cloud led the group down the left flight of stairs. Aya walked up next to him as they descended, taking his hand, sticking close to him as they walked further down.

"What _is_ this place?" Tifa asked no-one in particular, looking out across the room as they reached the lower floor.

"It looks like a temple.." Nanaki offered as a possible explanation.

"Or a tomb," Yuffie replied, eyeing the centerpiece of the room.

In the centre of the room lay a large, ornate stone casket, its entire surface carved out of rock and lined with crystal, embellished with intricate designs and artwork.

"There's an inscription here," Nanaki said, peering at the base of the stone casket.

"Can you read it?" Yuffie asked, curious.

"Hmmm..." Nanaki peered his eyes, concentrating. "Entombed with... within falls... no, wait..._lies_... our Emperor, savior of the Cetra people."

"So this is the Emperor's tomb?" Cloud asked.

"It would appear so." Nanaki replied, facing the rest of the group and sitting down. His tail swished back and forth slowly as he addressed the others. "According to what Sigil told me, the Emperor saved the Cetra people from certain annihilation not once, but twice. First, from their original homeworld, then from the Jenova beings when they razed this one. The stories tell that he sent his people through the gates in order to escape from this world. Afterwards, he rallied those who had been left behind, and fought the invaders, pushing them back," Nanaki paused, looking over at the stone casket again. "But one day, he was caught unaware by his enemies. They say he fought a last, desperate battle, killing many of them, but finally he succumbed.."

"And after that, the other Cetra lost their fighting spirit," Tifa concluded.

"Looks like it." Nanaki replied. "But if the Cetra were truly defeated here by the Jenova army, then why is this place devoid of any other people? Why is no-one _else_ here?"

"The ones who created Jenova, you mean?" Yuffie asked.

"Yes."

"A pyrrhic victory, maybe.." Cloud suggested. "The enemy might have been wiped out as well."

"Hmmm..." Nanaki purred. "Something's not right. It feels like there's still a piece of the puzzle missing.."

The red-maned beast walked up to the wall opposite to the casket, with the others trailing behind him.

"Geez, the walls here are so cracked, its a wonder the whole place hasn't crumbled on top of us yet," Yuffie said, examining the fine cracks in the walls, tracing their patters with her fingertips. The cracks were arranged in almost perfectly symmetrical horizontal lines, the others noticed, set deep inside the wall, encircling the whole chamber.

"Yuffie..." Nanaki spoke up, noticing something. "Those aren't cracks.."

Peering closer, she and the others discovered that the cracks in the walls were indeed not cracks at all, but _writing_. Thousands or even millions of words written into the walls. The faint, elaborate letterings were engraved deep _inside_ the walls, appearing to change depth as they walked alongside the wall. As they examined the inscriptions in the wall more closely, they noticed an array of murals set deeper inside the walls, revealing themselves in the right lighting conditions.

"Amazing.." Nanaki muttered, transfixed by the mesmerising artwork. Among the many murals, there was a centerpiece, sharper-looking than the rest of the simulacra, depicting several black shapes descending from the heavens. Black shapes looking curiously similar to Jenova..

"What does it say?" Cloud asked, eyeing the Jenova mural critically.

Nanaki gave a low rumbling sound from the depths of his larynx as he ran his eyes across the words written in the wall. "Give me a minute.." the red-maned beast replied, concentrating on the writing, finding the beginning of a sentence. Then he began to translate, speaking the words slowly as he deciphered them one by one. "Behold.." he began. "...A morbid angel.."

"A morbid angel descends from the sky.." a man's voice rang throughout the chamber, interrupting Nanaki's translation. The others turned to see Sigil walking towards them, flanked by four Cetra warriors.

"Wha-" Yuffie began, surprised, but Sigil cut her off before she could ask.

"I came here aboard your flying machine," Sigil explained simply, emphasizing the word _"machine"_ in a way that made it clear that the thought of relying upon mechanical objects displeased him.

"What can I say, Boss?" Cid said, joining them along with the other Avalanchers. "He insisted."

The five of them were relieved to see familiar faces, to say the least. Without any further words exchanged, Sigil and his guardians joined the group. Sigil only glanced at the five of them briefly, before turning his attention again to the mural behind them. Then he spoke again, continuing where he had left off. "..pouring from the heavens to bring us death and hate". Sigil's voice was steady, and his eyes ran across the writing on the wall, but it sounded as though he were reciting the words from memory, rather than reading them. "A year since the hour of judgement, we, the Cetra, bring into record the memory of this bleak day."

The old man walked over to the stone casket as he spoke, turning away from the murals. "The hellish rain brought with it a waking nightmare. The cities we had struggled to raise were rent asunder and burnt to the ground in a single day. Most did not survive to see the outcome. The rest fled. Only a few of us remained, guarded and guided by our savior, the Emperor..."

Sigil and his guardians paused before the stone casket as he spoke the Emperor's name, bowing their heads in reverence. "..Mobius."

Cloud and the others walked cautiously over to Sigil and his guards, waiting for them to say something. All of them seemed oddly quiet. It was a dangerous silence..

Looking up again, Sigil simply stared ahead, an introspective look upon his weathered face. Then, finally, he turned to Cloud and his friends. "Satisfy your own suicidal urges for peregrination if you must," Sigil said. "I care not. But to bring a _child_ to this place? Have you no rational thought in your minds?"

The old man's voice was filled not so much with anger as simple parental admonishment. Even so, the Avalanchers could all tell that he was quite upset.

"Hey, _she_ followed _us_ here," Yuffie replied. "We didn't bring her along."

"She's right," Tifa added, stepping up next to her friend. "It's not like we decided to take her with us.."

Sigil eyed them for a moment, then simply turned away, wandering further inside the chamber. "The Emperor is interred here," he spoke, examining the walls casually as he walked towards the far end of the chamber. "No living thing has set foot inside these hallowed halls in a long time.."

Sigil paused, coming to the end of the chamber, where a vast, rock-hewn set of double doors closed off the path leading further down into the Palace. "Too long, perhaps.." he finished, a tone of lament entering his voice. The others said nothing, but simply followed him, watching and listening for the time being.

"No living thing?" Yuffie whispered to the others. "What about those greys?"

"The Cetra do not consider Jenova or its spawn to be living beings," Nanaki replied in a hushed voice. "I'll explain later.."

"It is extremely dangerous here," Sigil spoke up, turning once again to the group of outsiders, looking over the group to ensure that he had everyone's attention. "We cannot remain in this place."

"Look, we need to find a way back home.." Cloud explained. "The gate that we came through was destroyed, so this place is our best bet right now."

"Be that as it may, _we_ will be leaving soon," Sigil replied, making it clear that by 'we', he meant himself and the other Cetra, including Aya. "I have come here to ascertain one thing, and one thing only. After that, we will be on our way. You may persist in your folly and perish here, if that is your desire."

"Heh... ass-ertain.." Yuffie snickered. Tifa admonishingly punched her in the arm. The young ninja winced slightly, but continued to chuckle quietly.

"What is it you wish to... ascertain?" Nanaki asked. Sigil, however, had already turned his back on the group, and was busy examining the large double doors in front of him.

"If it's still intact, then there may yet be hope.." the old man muttered to himself, gesturing to his guardians to open the portal. The four Cetra soldiers immediately went to work, driving a series of pitons into the surface of the doors. Then, attaching heavy ropes to the pitons, they began to pull the heavy doors apart. A spate of stale air poured into the chamber as the doorway gradually opened, causing the Avalanchers to cover their noses.

"Ugh... that's _nasty_.." Yuffie said. "What have they got in there? A dinosaur graveyard?"

"That may not be too far off.." Vincent replied, as they made their way inside the vast room waiting on the other side.

The group of humans and Cetra trickled into the room behind Sigil, who surveyed the room warily as he walked on. The whole chamber was lined with headstones, thousands of them, many tilted at strange angles, bent by the ravages of time. Here and there, large slabs of rock rose from the ground, with intricate designs and artwork cut into them. At the far ends of the chamber, several small mausoleums were located, each one quite apparently subject to the decay of age.

It was, indeed, a graveyard.

"So, these are the Imperial Catacombs," Nanaki said. "Sigil mentioned them briefly.." the beast explained. "Before Jenova arrived here, they were the burial place of royalty. After the attack, however.."

The animal scholar trailed off. The others could plainly see the consequences. Around the larger headstones and slabs, reserved for royalty, lay smaller ones, hastily built and set, scattered carelessly across the room. Whole families interred in meager plots, with children and parents buried side by side. Some, they realized, were just markers, as there were not even any remains left to bury..

Sigil headed down one of several pathways cutting across the plots reserved for grave markers, moving on through the room. "From here on, all paths lead further down, to the foundations," Sigil explained. "The lower levels are unsafe and out of bounds. Nothing you've seen here on the surface even begins to compare with what resides down there."

The old man looked behind his shoulder, giving the Avalanchers a warning glance, one that told them he was dead serious. There was something down there that, compared to the horrors they had witnessed so far, genuinely _scared_ him..

As they reached the end of the room, Sigil stopped off the group. "You will remain here," he said.

"What!?" Yuffie blurted out. "Why?"

Sigil eyed the young ninja with a look of annoyance. "As I told you, the lower levels are too dangerous for you to be traipsing around carelessly," he replied patronizingly. "I will return shortly. One of my guards will stay here with you."

With that, Sigil turned, heading down the narrow tunnel with the rest of his entourage. The last of his guards remained behind, blocking the entrance, crossing his arms as he lay his weapon down aside the narrow portal.

Tifa sighed. "Looks like we wait."

* * *

Yuffie stared up at the ceiling, looking utterly bored, idly throwing and catching one of her now-useless materia in her hand as she lay on top of one of the stone slabs. She had long since lost count of how many times she had caught it.. 

At least an hour had passed. The Avalanchers were either standing, sitting or lying down in various places in the Catacombs. Cloud stood on one of the pathways, taking practice swings with his Buster sword, having little else to do. Nanaki, who had earlier tried busying himself with reading the various inscriptions on the headstones, had finally given up and curled down alongside one of the granite slabs. Cid, Reeve and Barret were sitting on the floor, occupied with their card game, which was apparently being dominated by Reeve, judging by the amount of cursing coming from the other two players. Tifa and Vincent stood a little distance away from the rest of the group, under the shade of one of the mausoleums, speaking in hushed voices the way lovers often do, off in their own little world.

A light tremor passed through the chamber. None of the Avalanchers took much notice. They had been occurring with some regularity since they had arrived there. Apart from dislodging some dust from the ceiling, it didn't seem to have much effect on anything.

Yuffie caught her materia again, closing her fist around the marble-like object this time instead of throwing it into the air again. With that, she rose with a heavy sigh. "Screw this," she said, rolling off the heavy slab and onto the crystalline floor. "I'm outta here."

"Where are you going?" Tifa asked, stopping the young ninja.

"Anywhere," Yuffie replied. "I've had it up to here with waiting."

"Look, we've been asked to stay here, so it's probably best if we do... for now." Tifa said, attempting to conciliate the younger girl. "I'm sure Sigil and the others will be back any minute."

"We've been waiting here for _ages_," Yuffie replied, "There's gotta be something else we can do besides sit on our asses."

"Like what?" Tifa asked, eyeing the younger girl disapprovingly.

"Like... what about that other path?" Yuffie replied, gesturing towards another corridor branching out from the Catacombs. "We could go explore that."

"Look, kiddo," Cid spoke up, joining the conversation. "I don't like this crap any more than you do, but if that Cetra guy is tellin' the truth, then there's some seriously bad mojo down there. Do ya _really_ wanna find out what it is the hard way?"

"Beats sitting around here doing _nothing_," Yuffie replied defiantly, crossing her arms. "Why are we waiting around here, anyway?" the young ninja asked, addressing the group as a whole. "I mean, it's not like this guy's the boss of us, right? So why the hell are we taking orders from him?"

The young girl rolled her eyes, making mocking gestures as she continued to speak. "Oh, I'm the high and mighty Sigil, unelected ruler of the oppressed Cetra people, or what's left of'em, anyway," Yuffie said, mimicking Sigil's voice, "go do as I say, like good little peons."

"Stow it, Yuffie." Tifa replied, growing more and more irritated. Aya and the other Avalanchers, roused by their gradually raised voices, gathered around the two of them as they continued to argue.

"Let's face it," Yuffie continued, ignoring Tifa's comment, "All he's done so far is give us bad advice and tried to hold us back."

"He _saved_ our lives." Tifa pointed out, "That includes yours. So I'd give him the benefit of the doubt if I were you."

"He's overprotective," Yuffie remarked.

"Probably for a good reason," Tifa replied.

"You know what?" Yuffie sighed, rubbing her right eye tiredly. "The hell with reason. I'm tired and I'm hungry and I'm pissed off and I'm not gonna waste my time sitting on my ass just because some old fart tells me to."

"Yuffie.." Tifa tried again to conciliate the young ninja, but she had already turned away and was now walking off down of the alternate paths leading out of the Catacombs. The Cetra guardian, who had been passively observing their argument, eyed the young ninja as she stormed off down the path, but raised no objection to her leaving.

Tifa sighed. "You'd better go after her," she said, turning towards Cloud. "She might listen to you."

"All right," Cloud replied quietly, heading down the path after Yuffie. Another light tremor passed through the Catacombs as he exited the area, heading inside the narrow corridor.

"Is it just me, or are these tremors getting worse..?" Reeve asked no-one in particular, eyeing the ceiling warily as more dust drifted from its crevasses..

* * *

The corridor was narrow, almost claustrophobia-inducing, with a high roof and scant lighting. The fabric of the walls down underneath the main palace were of a different sort altogether, more granite than crystal, and the whole corridor was extremely dark, barely illuminated by the small torches scattered here and there on the high walls. 

"Yuffie." Cloud called after the young ninja, walking quickly just to keep up with her. "Yuffie, wait!"

"What!?" Yuffie replied irritably, turning around and stopping at last.

"Why do you want to go down there?" Cloud asked, speaking the first words that came to mind in an effort to keep the young ninja from simply turning on her heel and walking away again.

"What do _you_ care?" Yuffie asked venomously, "Just go back and wait with the others like a good boy."

"You know that's only temporary," Cloud replied. Pausing, the blond swordsman tried to placate his friend. "Look, why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?"

"Everything!" Yuffie answered, visibly close to throwing a tantrum, "Everything about this whole damned place. I've had enough of it, and I just want to go home!"

"You're acting like a child," Cloud replied.

"Well, maybe I'd stop acting like a child if people stopped treating me like one!" Yuffie shouted, close to bursting into tears.

Her voice echoed away quietly in the narrow corridor, as an uncomfortable silence fell upon the two of them. Yuffie lowered her gaze, facing the ground, a sullen look on her face. "Yeah... I'm the kid of the group," she said, in a quiet voice. "Always have been, always will be. No-one's ever let me forget that."

Cloud's demeanor towards the girl softened at hearing this. _"There it is.." _he thought, _"Her cross to bear..". _The blond swordsman had suspected as much about her, but this was the first time that she had ever indicated her true feelings about the way other people thought of her.

Perhaps they were more alike in that way than he had known. They were both extremely guarded when it came to their true feelings regarding things, but in different ways. Whereas he wore a mask of indifference or aloofness, she put on a happy face and pretended that things didn't really get to her. But in the end, they were just as vulnerable as anyone else.

Placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're not a kid, Yuffie". His voice was solemn, honest. "Even though you act like one sometimes.."

Cloud waited for her to raise her head again, looking her in the eye as he spoke. "I think we need someone like that," Cloud said, "otherwise we'd all be stone faces."

"Thanks," Yuffie grinned, pulling the blond swordsman into a tight hug, "...you big old piece of rock."

Cloud chuckled. "That's me."

The two of them reluctantly slipped out of the hug, leading to another silence, awkward but oddly comforting this time. "You wanna head back?" Cloud said finally, indicating the way back to the main Catacombs.

"Sure, um..." Yuffie replied, "I just wanna see what's around the corner. Then I'm ready to go."

"All right," Cloud agreed, "but if we spot any trouble, we head right back the way we came, ok? No heroics."

"'k." Yuffie agreed, and the two of them took off down the corridor together, both in higher spirits than before.

* * *

Yet another tremor, still slight, but more sustained than before, passed through the Palace's foundations as Sigil and his escorts continued to make their way through the grimy maze of corridors. 

"How much longer?" one of Sigil's guardians asked, examining the passageways to either side of them as they passed.

"Not long," Sigil replied. "This place will return to the earth soon."

"Then we'll be safe at last," another one of his guards spoke, "No more incursions."

"We can only hope," Sigil replied, "But yes, that will deprive _Him_ of our most important secret forever."

All of them noted Sigil's emphasis on the word "him", as if the mere thought of their nemesis were distasteful to him.

"What if _He_ knows?" the first guard asked.

"We must pray that He does not," Sigil replied, "There are no guarantees... But, as long as the blade is intact, there is still hope for us."

"Now," he continued, leading the group on, "we must simply wait and hope that dust and decay will claim this place sooner rather than later.."

* * *

"Huh," Yuffie remarked. "Dead end." 

She and Cloud had reached the far end of the corridor, and were currently staring at a blank wall, following a sharp turn, one of many that they had passed through earlier.

"Looks like we're heading back," Cloud said. "There's nothing else here."

The blond swordsman turned, preparing to head back, when Yuffie stopped him. "Wait! What's that?" she asked, pointing at an opening in the wall to their right, near the ground.

The opening was set very low in the wall, merely a thin slit, but strangely enough it was _cut_ into the wall, instead of having formed there through destruction or decay. The opening was barely noticeable due to the lack of light in the corridor, but a low, red hue emanated from it, similar to the one that the main corridor's walls were bathed in from their scattered array of torches.

"I don't think we should be crawling around there," Cloud began, but Yuffie was already halfway through the opening before he could raise any objections. Sighing, the blond swordsman made to follow the young girl, pressing himself down close to the ground to fit through the narrow tunnel.

On the other side, the two of them found themselves inside a small room, albeit one brightly illuminated compared to the corridor on the other side. As their eyes adjusted to the light, they noticed that the room was, in fact, another corridor, larger than the one they had just left. Aside from the opening behind them, however, there were no visible exits or entrances of any kind. The corridor was visibly empty, save for a stone altar of some kind, which lay at the far end of the room.

"We really should be heading back," Cloud said to Yuffie, but the young ninja's curiosity could not be quelled. As the two of them made their way over to the altar at the far end of the room, another tremor passed through the Palace's foundations, stronger than the ones preceding it. At least a minute elapsed before the ground ceased its convulsions, by which time Cloud and Yuffie had made it to the far end of the room.

Yuffie was visibly disappointed to see that the altar was empty, just a stone table laid into the wall, upon which lay a few unremarkable trinkets and nothing more. "See?" Cloud said, "There's nothing here. Come on, let's head back."

Before she could reply, however, the ground began to tremble again, softly at first, but the tremor grew stronger and stronger, instead of dying down as it had before. Finally, it stopped completely without warning. Yuffie and Cloud barely had time to exchange glances, however, before yet another earthquake shook the whole room... a _violent_ one.

"Ah!" Yuffie shrieked as the floor began to crack and break apart, falling into the darkness below.

Without any words exchanged, the two of them bolted for the exit. Their whole world shook as the earthquake grew even more violent in its force, decimating the enclosed room. Large chunks of the roof began to break off, crashing into the floor below, smashing it apart under their weight. Cloud and Yuffie ran as fast as they could, dodging the falling slabs of granite and darting over the cracks in the floor as they raced back to the other side of the room.

But it was too late..

As the two of them neared the thin slit in the wall that marked the only exit from the collapsing room, the roof shattered in front of them, crashing down into what was left of the granite floor that they stood on, sending both of them falling off the edge.

The next thing Yuffie knew, she was dangling in the air, a few feet _below_ the room that she had been standing inside of only seconds earlier, holding onto one of Cloud's hands with a death-grip. Cloud, for his part, had just barely managed to catch hold of one of the edges of the floor still remaining with his other hand, leaving the two of them holding on for their lives.

"Cloud!" Yuffie yelled, panicked.

"I've got you!" Cloud called back, his voice shaky.

Balancing Yuffie's weight in his left hand with his grip on the stone floor in his right, Cloud quickly glanced around the broken room to see what could be done about their situation. The tremors had ceased momentarily, but the destruction of the floor had left a chasm between them and the exit. There was the slightest chance, he saw, that they could get across. But first, they had to make it back up safely..

With tremendous effort, Cloud began to haul Yuffie up towards the edge of the floor, quietly thanking the gods that the young ninja was as light as she was. All he had to do was help her up far enough so that she could get a grip on the edge as well. Just a few more inches, and...

But before he could bring her up far enough, the edge of the floor gave, breaking off, sending them tumbling down into the darkness below..

* * *

"What was _that_?!" Tifa exclaimed, looking warily around the underground chamber as the violent tremor finally came to a halt. 

"The foundations are persistently rocked by earthquakes," Nanaki explained, finding his footing again. "There's no one to take care of maintenance down here, so the foundations continue to deteriorate."

The animal scholar looked up at the ceiling worriedly. "When they finally give, this place will simply vanish into the dust," he continued, looking at the others. "When that happens, well... Suffice to say we'd better not be here."

"Speakin' of which.." Barret spoke up, "Where's Cloud and Yuffie? What the hell's takin'em so long?"

"Think they're ok?" Reeve asked.

"Maybe we should go after'em." Cid suggested, stomping out his cigarette.

"They can handle themselves," Tifa assured the others.

"If you say..." Cid paused mid-sentence, glancing over at the corners of the room.

"What is it?" Vincent asked, noticing the distraught look on the pilot's face.

"D'you see something?" Cid asked, reaching for his spear. "There's something prowlin' around, in the corners.."

The others all quieted down, looking around the room. As they fell silent, they began to notice what sounded almost like faint whispers, echoing throughout the Catacombs. Cid was right. There _was_ something moving around the shadows in the corners of them room. In fact, the chambers' shadows themselves seemed to be_moving_.

The others slowly reached for their weapons as well..

* * *

She was breathing dust, and her whole world was darkness. 

Moreover, Yuffie's whole body ached, with numerous cuts and bruises making their presence known through the pain that was welling up all over, and she was almost certain that she was bleeding from her forehead.

But she was alive..

Something heavy was pressed against her legs, but she felt too exhausted and tired to try and struggle against it. She tried to speak, but all she could manage was a weak cough, as all the dust she had inhaled was beginning to clog up her lungs.

"Yuffie?" a voice came in the dark, rousing her from her state of lethargy. "Yuffie, is that you?!"

She tried to speak again, eliciting two more coughs, stronger this time, before she managed to reply.

"Yuh... yeah.."

As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could make out the faint outlines of Cloud's shape, running over to her side. He knelt down beside her, breathing a sigh of relief as he confirmed that she was still among the living. "Thank the gods.." he whispered, hugging her tightly for a brief moment. Yuffie tried her best to return the hug, but was unable to move her arms up by more than a few inches.

Clearing the rocks off the lower part of her body, Cloud helped the young ninja up to her feet, slinging her left arm around his shoulder, supporting her as they began to look for an exit. Peeking up, Yuffie could see the room which they had fallen from in the distance. It was amazing, she thought, that they had even survived such a fall..

The area they were in was pitch-black, yet Cloud seemed to be moving with a speed that suggested that he knew where they were going. "Can you see anything?" Yuffie asked, some strength returning to her voice, now that she was back on her feet.

"A little bit.." Cloud replied. Yuffie looked over at his face, remembering that his Mako eyes provided him with a degree of enhanced vision. She knew that he must have been hurt by the fall as well, but as he healed faster, thanks to the Jenova cells in his body, he had been able to get up again as quickly as he had. That trait had, in all likelihood, probably saved their lives, she thought. Not for the first time, either.

"Maybe I ought to get me some of that Mako therapy, huh..?" Yuffie said jokingly, coughing as she spoke.

"I doubt you'd really like it," Cloud replied. There was no humor in his voice as said it.

Finally, the two of them spotted a sliver of azure light in the distance, indicating an exit. Moving towards the light, the two of them found themselves inside a small room, whose collapsed wall they had just entered through. The room itself was unremarkable, but as they emerged from it, they found themselves looking at what they had been searching for all along..

The room opened out into a circular mezzanine, overlooking a floor some distance below. Down on the floor below lay a semi-circular structure, rising up from the ground.

_A gate._

Neither one of the two spoke, being too fatigued for the time being to exchange any words, instead simply looking at each other in surprise. The two of them began to wander around the mezzanine, noticing more rooms along the way, most of them seemingly small and inconsequential. One of them, however, was sealed by a large, ominous-looking set of stone doors, a kind of centerpiece..

Moving on, the two of them reached a staircase at the end of the mezzanine, leading back up. As they started to turn around again, they heard voices, coming from above.

"Now that we have both keys, we can enter safely," a man's voice said. "Afterwards, we will have to re-seal.."

Pausing, Cloud and Yuffie waited to see who it was. The two of them were surprised to see Sigil walking down the stairway, flanked by his entourage of Cetra guardians. Sigil and the others looked just as surprised to see them.

"Wha-" Sigil uttered, almost speechless. "How did _you_ get down here?"

"We fell," Yuffie replied matter-of-factly.

Sigil looked for a second as though he were trying to grasp the right words with which to reply, but then he simply brushed past them, as if to indicate that these strange outsiders and their doings had almost ceased to surprise him by now.

Uncertain of what else to do, Cloud and Yuffie followed Sigil and his guards as they walked over to the stone door which they had passed earlier. Sigil, at this point, didn't seem to care very much about their presence, focused as he was on his current task. Reaching inside of his robe, he produced a faintly luminescent and oddly shaped key, holding it up to the door. The door, Cloud and Yuffie noticed, was decorated with a carving of twin goddesses, reaching out to one another. Observing the carvings, Sigil placed the key between the palms of the goddesses' hands. There was a short pause, and then they distinctly heard the sound of something heavy sliding out of place, as if the doors were being unlocked.

Sigil's bodyguards moved up to the heavy doors, slowly pushing them open, before heading inside, surrounding the old man as he led them inside. Cloud and Yuffie trailed after them, glancing around as they stepped inside the cavernous room. As they entered, Yuffie let her arm slip from Cloud's shoulder, indicating to him that she felt well enough to walk on her own.

Walking inside, they soon reached a steep staircase made of rock. The room itself was flanked by two deep pits on either side of the center. In sharp contrast to the icy blue colours of the rest of the Palace, the walls inside this chamber were bathed in hues of red, growing brighter as they descended the stairs. Strangely, the room felt much _warmer_ than the rest of the palace, as well. As they peered across the edges of the stairs, they saw the reason why..

Underneath the bridge-like center of the room lay a swirling lake of molten lava, snaking along the heavy rock pillars supporting the floor as it slowly slipped farther down into the earth's crust.

"Whoa.." Yuffie muttered.

"Hey, be careful," Cloud said, noticing that the young ninja was beginning to lean a bit far across the edge. Ushering her along down the stairs, the two of them caught up with Sigil and his men as they reached the end of the staircase.

Having reached the end of the staircase, Cloud and Yuffie found themselves on a straight path again, although this one was much narrower than the one above, only two dozen inches or so across. Consequently, the risk of falling off the edges was considerable, and the heat down there was almost unbearable. By the time the two of them reached the end of the path, along with Sigil and his guardians, they had worked up quite a sweat.

All that was forgotten, however, as they looked upon the awe-inspiring sight at the end of the path..

From an opening in the roof, far above, a steady stream of lava poured down in a circle, forming a protective barrier, cutting the rest of the path off. Through the "waterfall" of lava, the two of them could faintly make out an elevated platform of some kind, on which rested a pedestal. Any other details, however, were obscured by the downpour of molten lava, cascading off the sides of the bridge as it flowed downwards.

Sigil turned to a strange-looking device sitting at an outstretched portion of the bridge, placing the second key inside the device. The device was motionless for a moment, but then the key began to turn, sounding a series of notes, causing its melody to ring out throughout the chamber. Cloud and Yuffie noticed that the device was not unlike the one they had used at the City of the Ancients, during the Meteor Crisis..

As the last note sounded, the flow of lava trailed off, coming to a halt. Sigil turned to the two of them, acknowledging their presence for the first time since entering the chamber. "We do not have much time," he said, gesturing towards the platform, now uncovered. "The flow only stops for a brief moment.."

Cloud and Yuffie, along with the others, turned towards the platform. The two of them gasped as they saw what was contained there. On the pedestal rested a black sword, buried in the centre of the thick stone slab. But what was truly striking was the sword's appearance. Its very presence seemed to suggest violence. The blade exuded a menace that was almost palpable..

Seeing the blade, Sigil breathed a sigh of relief, "It is still intact.." he said. Looking over at Cloud, he gestured at him to follow him onto the platform. Hesitant, Cloud joined Sigil as he stepped upon the pedestal, examining the sword.

As he approached it, Cloud noticed that the blade was not actually black, but rather a deep, dark blue, revealed by the way the light reflected on it differently up close. It held few decorations, apparently being made for combat rather than display. The blade itself was large and thick, with a heavy handle. Furthermore, it was _incredibly_ sharp, not dulled in the slightest by the hands of time. As he came up close, Cloud saw why.

_The blade was crafted out of pure materia._

"This is the Emperor's blade," Sigil told him, "Sakhmet. 'The One Before Whom Evil Trembles'."

Removing one of his gloves, Cloud ran his hand lightly down the sword's edges. Such was its sharpness that he was barely touching the blade, and yet he still managed to cut himself on it. Wincing slightly, Cloud replaced the glove.

Sigil looked at him expectantly. Cloud gave the old man an inquiring look, as if to ask for permission to remove the blade from its resting place. Sigil nodded at him approvingly, urging him to take it.

Gripping the blade's hilt, Cloud braced himself before attempting to dislodge the sword. Slowly, with effort, the blade gave way, sliding up from the pedestal, until it was completely freed. Stepping back down from the platform, Cloud raised the blade to examine it. The blade's heft and size felt oddly comfortable, being somewhat similar to his own Buster Sword. Sigil, stepping down from the platform as well, gasped slightly as he saw the blond swordsman enter into his combat posture..

"Th- The emperor.." the old man breathed. All this time, Yuffie and the others had been watching, mesmerised, uncertain of what would happen next.

However, all of them were suddenly roused from their reverie by the unmistakable sound of gunfire, coming from above.

_"The Catacombs.."_ Yuffie thought, looking up towards the ceiling.

Before she or the others could react, Cloud was already running past them, heading back up the stone staircase. "Hey, wait!" Yuffie called, chasing Cloud and the others as they rushed back up out of the chamber.

Darting out into the cool air of the mezzanine, Cloud wasted no time in finding the stairs, running further and further up, making his way through the maze-like foundations of the palace, following the sound of gunfire, until finally he reached the tunnel leading back into the main Catacombs.

A heated battle was taking place in the Catacombs between the Avalanchers and some unseen enemy. Reeve, Vincent, Barret and Tifa were firing away wildly, turning every which way to keep up with some unfathomable, shadowy shapes, while Nanaki guarded Aya from their aggressors, which Cloud could still not make out in the darkness of the chamber.

Then he saw it.

The creatures attacking the Avalanchers were nothing like what they had seen before. They possessed four vaguely limb-like appendices, two of which served as rudimentary legs with which to crawl, while the others formed crude tentacle arms. The creatures had elongated necks, not unlike the Jenova beings, with pointed yellow eyes and masks whose vertically-slit mouths formed sadistic "grins" on their faces.

And one of them was creeping up on Aya and Nanaki, unseen, poising to strike. _No time to warn them.._

Without stopping, Cloud ran up to them as fast as he possibly could, the Emperor's blade still in his hand, leaping up off one of the stone slabs littering the room. In one swift, unbroken motion he spun around, slicing in a downward arc, cutting the monster in half in mid-air, just as it leapt up to attack. Nanaki and Aya turned just in time to see the monster's remains fall to the ground on either side of them. Aya let out a cry of fear and surprise, which was cut short by Nanaki forcing her away from the dead monster's remains.

"What the hell are these things!?" Cloud asked, joining the others in their fight.

"Beats me!" Tifa replied, "Nice of you to join us, though."

Cloud aligned himself with the other Avalanchers' combat formation, forming a protective circle in the centre of the Catacombs, near the greatest source of light. Even so, their aggressors were hard to make out in the dusk of the underground. The creatures, Cloud noticed, had another trait that set them apart from anything else that they had encountered so far..

_Needles_.

Protruding from the creatures' bodies were thousands of tiny needle-like spines, gleaming in the low light of the Catacombs, as though dripping with venom. The Avalanchers in the Catacombs held their ground while they waited for the monsters to attack, but strangely enough, they held back, approaching their prey with an oddly casual demeanor, as if they knew something that their human foes did not.

The needlers approached the Avalanchers slowly, encircling the group, in no apparent hurry. Then, emitting a low hissing sound, they struck, nearly all at once. The Avalanchers dodged their attacks, in some cases just barely, before striking back, killing off the second wave of attackers with deadly efficiency.

Cloud turned, just in time to spot a third needler sneaking up on him. Reacting in the nick of time, he managed to lean back as it lashed out with its razor-sharp feelers, swiping away at him, mere inches away from his face. The blond swordsman responded by bringing his sword up, slicing the needler's outstretched feeler clean off. However, before he could finish the monster off, another one came at him from the side, climbing up onto one of the coffin slabs next to him.

_He didn't have time to take out both.._

But before any one of them could press their attack, the second needler's head was sheared clear off by a blur of flying metal.

Cloud smiled slightly at the sight of this. It was a blur he knew all too well. It was Yuffie's combat shuriken, signaling the young ninja's entrance into the fight. She and Sigil's guardians came running out of the tunnel and into the Catacombs, assisting the Avalanchers in their fight.

_"No sign of Sigil himself yet.."_ Cloud noted mentally, pressing his attack along with the others.

The Avalanchers and Sigil's protectors finished off a third wave of needlers, avoiding all contact with the vile creatures. As the last one fell, however, the Avalanchers heard a cry of pain, one that was distinctly _human_..

Looking over their shoulders, the Avalanchers saw a needler standing over one of Sigil's four bodyguards. The creature simply stood there, turning its malice-filled grin up towards them as its victim struggled weakly underneath it.

A loud gunshot echoed throughout the Catacombs as the needler was blasted clear off the Cetra's body. The others turned to see Barret with his gun-arm outstretched, having perforated the creature with a well-aimed shot. The whole chamber was shrouded in silence for the time being. Through the silence, the Avalanchers began to hear a low hissing sound, emanating from above.

Then they looked up..

...to see a chilling sight. The roof and walls of the Catacombs were teeming with needlers, all slowly crawling down towards their prey..

The Avalanchers lowered their weapons, in awed silence, as the grim realization hit them. They would never be able to take on that many at once. It was over...

Raising their weapons again to fight one last, desperate battle, the Avalanchers and Sigil's guardians were surprised to hear a voice cry out, coming from the tunnel leading to the foundations.

Turning their heads, they saw Sigil, pacing towards them as quickly as he was able, all the while chanting something which they could not discern..

And suddenly, the Catacombs were filled with a brilliant azure light, exploding out from the centre of the room. When it dissipated, a brilliantly-lit, demonic figure was floating in the middle of the room. The demon eyed the needlers with clear hatred in its crimson eyes..

The needlers stopped momentarily in their tracks, perplexed by the arrival of this new being.

The summoned creature, however, wasted little time in disposing of its enemies. Bursting through the air, the demon morphed into a bolt of fire, incinerating the needlers on contact, turning the Catacombs into a veritable inferno. The Avalanchers watched, amazed, as the demon roared throughout the chamber, tearing through its enemies as if they weren't there, leaving nothing behind, not even charred remains..

As the last of the needlers dissipated into a thin vapor of ashes, the demon returned to the centre of the room, floating in front of the Avalanchers, eyeing them with distrust. The Avalanchers instinctively backed away slightly, as the demon looked upon them, emitting a low growl as it waited for its next command.

Sigil walked over to the centre of the room, breathing heavily, leaning on his staff for support. "Begone, demon," the old man ordered, "You have served your purpose."

The demonic being roared, melting into thin air, transforming into slivers of fire as it did so.

The Avalanchers simply stood there, dumbstruck. "What was _that_?" Yuffie asked.

"A _summon_," Nanaki replied. "I knew the Cetra could cast magic without resorting to materia, but.."

Looking over to Sigil, they saw that old man had collapsed, and was being helped back to his feet by his one of his bodyguards. The summoning had clearly taken its toll on the old man.

Before the Avalanchers could offer their help, another agonized cry of pain echoed throughout the chamber, coming from the Cetra guardian laying on the floor. The man lay prone on the ground, convulsing violently.

Breaking free from his guardians' restraints, Sigil walked over to the man, examining him. The Avalanchers joined him, encircling the afflicted Cetra guardian as he contorted frantically on the ground, a pleading look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, my friend.." Sigil whispered, raising his staff. Then, bringing it down with great force, in one swift movement, he rammed the end of the staff through the man's open mouth, breaking his spine with a sickening _"crack!"_

Startled, the Avalanchers winced at the sight. Yuffie and Tifa averted their sight, closing their eyes. "Geez.." Cid muttered, shaking his head.

Blood seeping slowly from the back of the man's head, pooling out onto the rock floor. Sigil quickly removed his staff again with an efficient motion, glaring angrily at the Avalanchers for a brief moment, before rejoining his three remaining guardians.

* * *

The Jenova being watched with interest as all of this took place. 

The Avalanchers and the Cetra flocked together, speaking in hushed tones, unaware of its presence.

_"...Where do we go from here?"_

_"..nowhere to go but down.."_

_"...how did you end up down there, anyway?"_

_"..good thing you showed up when you did.."_

It continued watching them from the shadows, finally deciding on its first victim.

His psyche, it sensed, was already quite fragmented. A perfect target. Now, all it needed to do was wait for the right moment to strike. It decided to wait. Wait for them to go deeper into the foundations.

_Just a little further.._

* * *

The Avalanchers looked over the body of the fallen Cetra. 

"They carry some kind of nerve toxin in their skin," Nanaki explained, addressing the other Avalanchers. "It is extremely potent. Even the slightest touch is enough to kill. First, it paralyzes the victim, and then.."

Nanaki trailed off. The others could plainly see what would happen next.

"It's a most painful way to die," Nanaki concluded. "And there is _no_ cure. Death occurs within minutes of exposure."

_"One touch.."_ Cloud thought, a grim look on his face.

Sigil and his guardians walked over to the Avalanchers. "We must dispose of the body," Sigil told them. "Stand back."

The Avalanchers backed away, as Sigil raised his staff. The air became increasingly warmer around them, until finally a burst of flame swelled into existence above the Cetra's corpse.

The fire caught on quickly, incinerating the dead body. As it burned, Sigil's guardians went about the task of gathering the dead needlers' remains, throwing them onto the pyre as well.

"How is he able to do that?" Yuffie asked, curious.

"You mean, casting 'magic'.."

"Yeah, without materia.." Yuffie finished for him, still awestruck by the old man's ability to conjure fire out of nothing.

"They call it 'borrowing'," Nanaki explained. "All Cetra are born with the ability to draw upon the essence of living things. In this case, the planet's Lifestream. They are literally borrowing its power, much as we do, using materia."

The others looked at the red-maned beast as he spoke. "Their gates and other constructions are all crafted by these means. Gates are fuelled by the power of the Lifestream, which is extremely exacting on planet's life force. All of their technology is centered around the concept of 'borrowing' in one way or another."

"That reminds me.." Cloud spoke up, digging into one of his pockets, walking over to the tunnel leading down into the foundations.

"What is it?" Reeve asked.

"Break out your materia, guys." Cloud replied, gesturing for the others to follow him. "We're going home."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Five months..

I won't bore you all with the usual excuses. Suffice to say that I haven't had much time for writing, and sometimes when I did, I simply lacked the desire. But it seems to be coming back, if slowly. I just hope this chapter was worth the wait. (If anyone is still reading this story, that is). Anyway, if there is ever such a long period without updates again, just bear in mind: This story isn't dead, it's just sleeping.

So, here we have the longest chapter I've written yet. It wasn't really intentional. It just sort of spiralled out of control. Still, I am fairly pleased with the outcome. It contains one of the better fight scenes that I've written, in my opinion. Kinda over the top, even for this kind of story, but I guess that's what happens when you've just been reading Matthew Reilly.

A couple of notes on references made in this chapter. "Sakhmet" is another way of writing/pronouncing the name "Sekmet". Sekmet, as you may know, was the ancient Egyptians' goddess of war and vengeance. One bloodthirsty mother, to say the least. I figured it would make an appropriate name for a weapon like this. (Also, if you know what the title of this chapter refers to, you rock).

Stay tuned, folks. This adventure isn't over yet. Not by a long shot.


	16. Fatal Mirage, part 1

_The truth between two lies__  
__An illusion manifested in the physical__  
__Shapeshifter, a hybrid being__  
__Hiding underneath_

_Remembering my ancestry__  
__I am human, but still not quite__  
__A victim of hybridization__  
__A program shunned from the light_

_My blood interstellar and I'm shedding skin__  
__Becoming what I always was__  
__Embracing my unearthly origin_

_Shapeshifter, a hybrid being__  
__Hiding no more__  
__Anti-thesis__  
__Seeing is deceiving_

**Through The Ashes Of Empires****  
****Chapter 16****  
****Fatal Mirage**

**Part I: Descending**

* * *

"It's a star map.." Nanaki said.

He and the others were still gazing at the dome-shaped roof of the circular chamber in amazement. The sheer number of celestial objects catalogued in its vestiges was mind-numbing. Countless billions of stars, constellations and galaxies were marked throughout the whole chamber, etched into every part of its multi-layered walls.

The chamber itself was darker than the rest of the Palace, probably in order to make the viewing of the stars easier. In the center of the chamber stood the gate that Cloud and Yuffie had spotted earlier. The gate seemed somehow larger and more imposing than the ones they had seen before, possibly signifying that it served some important function.

Right now, however, the whole chamber was deathly still, almost eerily so. The only sound that could be heard, aside from the occasional whisperings of the Avalanchers, was that of the foundations creaking and groaning under their own weight, and the only movement the occasional crumble of dust from the ceilings.

"The only thing I know of in existence even comparable to this is the star chart in Grandfather's study," Nanaki spoke as he trailed around the chamber, taking in the humbling sight. "but...I never dreamed of anything like this. The Cetra were truly amazing.."

Cloud shot him a critical look.

"_Are_, I mean.." Nanaki corrected himself. The animal scholar was so used to thinking of the Cetra people in the past tense, believing them to be extinct, that he occasionally had to remind himself that they were now in the presence of still-living Cetra.

"What are these markings?" Vincent asked. "Guidelines? Directions to other places the Cetra may have been, perhaps?"

"Yes, I assume that is this chamber's main purpose," Nanaki replied, moving towards the gate in the centre of the room. "From what I can tell, the gate's operation depends heavily upon the arrangement of the materia placed in it. I'm guessing that this chart essentially denotes what goes where."

"So, one materia out of place, and.." Tifa began.

"...we might end up sucking vacuum." Yuffie finished for her.

"It's possible," Nanaki replied. "There's no way of knowing for certain what will happen. Perhaps it simply won't work. Perhaps it'll transport us to the wrong world, one without any atmosphere.."

"Or a dozen other things _could_ happen." Cloud said, cutting in. "Bottom line, can we use it to get back home or not?"

Nanaki looked at the gate, examining it intently. "I think so. It will take some time for me to plot a way back to our homeworld. We're a long way from home, after all. I'm not even certain _where_ we are, exactly. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say we are probably in one of the star clusters at the far end of the spiral."

"But we're still in the same galaxy, right?" Reeve asked.

"I believe so," Nanaki replied. "Most likely, our own star system lies somewhere on the other end of the galaxy, hence the time dilation that occurs when we're travelling between worlds. Usually, travelling between gates like these should be instantaneous."

"Maybe we should ask Sigil for help." Tifa suggested.

Yuffie snorted. "Did you see that look he gave us earlier? I doubt he wants anything more to do with us."

"Which means he'd be all the more eager to see us leave." Tifa pointed out.

"Or get rid of us, by any means necessary." Cid chimed in.

"If he wanted to kill us, he probably would have sent that fire demon of his after _us_ next." Tifa said. "Look, it's safe to say that he doesn't _like_ us, but I don't think he means us any harm."

"Can't say I blame him for being so defensive, though, what with everything that's happened here." Nanaki commented.

"So... what do we do?" Barret asked.

Cid gave a nod to the Avalanche leader. "It's your call, boss."

"We stick to our original plan," Cloud replied, crossing his arms. "Find a way back home, then bring the Cetra with us once we have a safe path cleared and ready."

"And... _how_ exactly are we going to get them out of here?" Cid asked. "Stuff'em aboard the Highwind, and haul'em outta here in tiny groups?"

"If need be." Cloud replied, intent in his voice. "Of course, none of that matters while we still don't have a way back to our own world. Let's focus on that for now. Red?"

"Give me time.." Nanaki said, still studying the gate and the star chart above it.

"We don't have much time." Cloud replied.

"Then give me the time we _do_ have." Nanaki said. "We only get one shot at this, remember?"

Cloud sighed. "All right. Let's talk to Sigil, see if he'll co-operate with us."

"He said that he and the other Cetra were leaving soon." Yuffie noted.

"Then let's stall them for a moment." Cloud replied, heading back up to the Catacombs, followed by the others, save for Nanaki.

* * *

It didn't take them long to find Sigil, as he was apparently heading their way. Cloud and the others nearly bumped into him and his escort as they turned the corner of one of the stairwells leading back up to the Catacombs.

"You again," Sigil said, scowling. "Is there something you want?"

"We need your help." Tifa replied, her voice earnest.

"Hmm.." Sigil returned, bemused. "Indeed?"

The old man and the other Cetra continued walking downwards, with the Avalanchers in tow.

"So, are you going to help us?" Yuffie asked.

"That would depend on what you need help with." Sigil replied, moving on.

Back inside the darkened chamber, the two groups dispersed, scattering across the room. Sigil walked past the gate, towards the far wall, examining it carefully. Raising his free hand, he began to trace a line across the wall with his index finger.

"What's he doing?" Yuffie whispered, as she and Cloud approached the old man.

"Reserving an option." Sigil replied aloud.

_"Damn. The old bastard's got better hearing than I gave him credit for.."_ Yuffie thought.

The other Avalanchers began to gather around as well, observing the old man's strange behaviour. After a short while, Sigil finally stopped at a certain point in the wall. Cloud and the others approached him as he brushed away some of the dust, exposing a narrow fissure in the wall.

"What's that?" Tifa asked.

"A way out." Sigil replied.

The Avalanchers moved in closer, examining the thin slit in the wall. The tiny opening, they noticed, ran from the floor to somewhere higher up in the room.

"There is a tunnel here," Sigil explained. "It leads back to the surface, but the doorway here has been sealed from both sides."

"You're planning on removing the seal from this side, I take it?" Nanaki asked.

Sigil did not reply, but instead raised his staff towards the opening, chanting something under his breath. A second or two passed, and then a trace of sharp blue light spread throughout the opening, starting from the point where Sigil had touched it with his staff, and then began to filter throughout the rest of the doorway, lighting up the intricate symbols carved into the heavy-set stone doors. The sight caused some of the Avalanchers and even the Cetra guards to gasp in amazement.

The light began to fade away, and the sound of rock scraping rock could be heard, as if something heavy were sliding out of place. Finally, the noise ceased, ending with a final, heavy 'thunk', after which the room was again plunged into complete silence.

Seemingly pleased with his work, Sigil turned to the Avalanche members. "Now, what is it you want?" he asked.

"How do we open the gate?" Cloud asked, gesturing towards the arch in the center of the chamber.

Sigil simply stared at the young man for a second, this time without any discernable anger in his eyes. Cloud met his gaze, but deciding not to antagonize the old man any further for the time being, broke away first, looking over towards the gate.

As he did so, Sigil took off, walking towards the gate, scrutinizing it intently, circling it. Finally, he came to a halt just before the gate's center, facing the approaching Avalanchers. "Are you sure you want to know?" he asked.

This struck the Avalanchers as a strange question. The way Sigil asked it hinted at the fact that he was no longer challenging their intentions or trying to impede their journey, but rather as a frank warning against something he would not explicitly speak of.

"We have no other choice." Cloud replied. "We have to find a way back home."

Sigil looked down at the ground, sighing. "Very well," he replied.

Before any of the Avalanchers could speak, the old man looked back up at them. "Up until now, you've handled yourselves remarkably well, given the circumstances. It is obvious that you are no mere idle, curious visitors."

Sigil moved around and between the Avalanche members as he continued to speak. "But now you stand at a crossroads," he said, brushing one hand lightly against the gateway's arch. "This is a threshold that is not lightly crossed."

The old man returned to the gate's center, regaining his composure. "I know I cannot dissuade you. I've learned that much. I will not even implore you, even though I know this path will only lead to misery and ruin."

Now, the old man's voice grew more forceful, as that of a stern father addressing a child. "So consider this a warning:" Sigil pointed to the gate with his staff. "If you cross this threshold, you will _not_ return."

Lowering his staff again, Sigil gestured for Aya and his guardians to come with him. "Now, we must take our leave."

The old man looked over at Cid, who was busy exchanging glances with Reeve and Barret, rattled by Sigil's rather surprising speech. "If you would be so kind."

Cid and Barret walked over to them, joining the group of Cetra as they headed back to the surface.

"Wait!" Cloud called to them, as they made to leave. "You still haven't told us how to open the gate."

Sigil and his followers paused as the old man turned around. "You already have the key," Sigil replied, gesturing towards the blond swordsman.

"But where do we go from here?" Yuffie shouted as they walked away. "We don't know what our destination is!"

_"The gate only has one destination!"_ Sigil called to them, as he walked up the circular staircase leading back up.

"Is he always this cryptic?" Reeve asked as they watched the Cetra leave along with Cid and Barret.

"The key..." Cloud muttered, reaching behind his back, drawing Sakhmet from its mount. Turning it in his hands, he looked the materia blade over, thinking.

"Of course!" Nanaki spoke up, walking over to him. "Sakhmet must be forged from the same type of materia as Sigil's staff."

"It's the key." Yuffie said, smiling.

Despite himself, the blond swordsman gave a small smile as well. Then, sheathing the Cetra blade again, he looked over at Nanaki. "Now all we need is a destination," he said.

The red-maned beast gave a wolfish approximation of a grin. "I'm on it."

* * *

_"What do you mean 'let you die?'"_

_"I don't understand.."_

_"Wait.."_

_"Wait for me..."_

_"...Please."_

* * *

Cloud was roused from his sleep by the sound of laughter, coming from somewhere outside of the chamber.

_"I must have dozed off.."_ he thought, standing up, shaking off the mental cobwebs of sleep. As far as he could tell, he was alone. He didn't know where the others had gone. Before he had a chance to get his bearings, however, the laughter came again. So soft, so sweet... so _enticing_..

Raising himself from his sleeping position, he tried to determine where the sound was coming from. The gentle, melodic laughter seemed to be cascading off the walls, emanating from some indeterminate source.

Still groggy in the head, Cloud began to wander outside of the chamber, taking one turn after another as the familiar laughter led him down the winding corridors of the foundations. Finally, turning a corner, he came to a dead end, a poorly lit corridor ending abruptly at a barren, blank wall.

As he approached the far end of the closed corridor, his eyes began to make out a shape hidden in the shadows. Cloud gasped, pausing as he closed in on the obscure figure, crouching in the dark. He could not tell quite what it was, but he sensed that it was... _waiting_. Waiting for him.

The blond swordsman edged closer to the thing in the shadows, his heart pounding faster with every step. His head began to feel as though thousands needles were slowly being pressed into it all at once. _His vision became clouded, blackened. He was so close to seeing the thing for what it was now... something was forming in his mind, still vague, still refusing to take on a single shape. Teeth and tentacles... or a kind embrace and soft lips? Love and death. Something hideous and beautiful all at once, almost within reach now..._

A hand fell on his shoulder, breaking the illusion. Cloud gave a faint cry of surprise, turning to see who it was, his heart still racing.

It was Yuffie, looking at him with concern in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked.

Cloud was unsure of how exactly to react. He was in turn both grateful for and irritated by the interruption. Feeling that he was on the threshold of some important discovery or revelation. Yet if he had taken that final step..

"I was just.." Cloud started, trailing off. He glanced over his shoulder, looking back towards the dead end. Or at least, what used to be a dead end. The dead end was gone, and in its place stood a brightly lit corridor, no different from any other he had encountered down there. "Um.."

"Cloud.." Yuffie began. "You just started wandering off on your own, talking to yourself."

"Oh.." Cloud replied, hanging his head, ashamed.

"Cloud, really, what's wrong?" Yuffie asked again.

Cloud shook his head slowly. "Nothing. Forget about it."

The blond swordsman made to leave, but the young ninja stopped him in his tracks, crossing her arms. "Don't 'nothing' me, Cloud. You've been acting like this ever since we got here. Don't pretend that nothing's wrong," she said. "I'm- _We're_ your friends. Don't shut us out."

Cloud sighed. "I don't know what it is. There's just something about this _place_. It's getting harder for me to think straight.."

Yuffie watched the blond swordsman with growing concern as he spoke.

"I _see_ things," Cloud continued. "Sometimes it's just little glances, things at the edge of my vision. Sometimes I hear voices, whispers.."

"Yeah... well, you've always been a little bit unhinged, ever since... you know." Yuffie observed.

"I know." Cloud replied. "And until now, I've been able to keep my... _condition_ under control. But now.. it feels like the lines are blurring. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between reality and.. whatever else it is I'm seeing. It just seems more _real_ than before. I'm afraid that if this keeps going, soon I won't be able to tell the difference at all.."

The young girl placed a comforting hand on his chest, her expression softening considerably. "Cloud... you need help. There's something about this place that's rubbing you the wrong way, and it won't do you any good to stay here for too long."

"Yeah.." Cloud replied.

"C'mon, it's not safe to be wandering around here," Yuffie said, taking his hand, leading him back to the star chamber. "Red said he could use some help with that stupid chart, anyway."

Cloud simply followed her, letting her guide him by the hand. _"She's right.."_ he thought. _"I can't stay here."_

"Also..." Yuffie said, glancing at him over her shoulder. "...You really ought to clean yourself up."

_"Clean myself up?"_ Cloud thought. _"What is she..?" _

The blond swordsman brought his hand up to his face, noticing for the first time the sizable trickle of blood pouring from his nose.

"Headaches again?" Yuffie asked innocuously.

Cloud nodded, mortified by the fact that he hadn't noticed earlier.

Yuffie gave him another worried look, as they turned the corner over into the star chamber. "The sooner we get out of here," she said, "the better."

* * *

The five Cetra watched the Crystal Palace as it shrunk from view. Sigil stood at the edge of the Highwind's observation deck along with the little girl, but his bodyguards kept a respectful distance. One of them, however, broke away from the others, approaching the old man, seemingly agitated by something.

"What's on your mind, Dao?" Sigil asked, sensing the younger man's agitation.

"Forgive me for asking," Dao said, "but do you really think it was wise to leave them with the sword?"

Sigil allowed himself a wry smile, staring out at the darkening horizon. "No... Perhaps not. But suffer an old fool."

"There's something..." he continued, still looking out ahead at the rapidly vanishing coast. "Something that reminds me of... _him_. The Emperor. Our savior."

"But now they have the key to.." Dao began. Sigil raised a hand, cutting him off.

"I know." Sigil said. "At best, it won't matter. We're dying anyway. At the worst, I have merely accelerated our fate."

"Better to accept our fate, you mean, than to wait for it to claim us all?" Dao asked, still unconvinced.

"Only if I am wrong." Sigil replied, smiling again, a more confident smile this time. This seemed to placate the younger man, who quietly returned to his post with the other bodyguards.

Sigil turned towards the Palace again, where the last rays of sunlight were giving way to the inky blackness of the night.

_"Am I wrong..?"_ he thought. _"Gods, I pray I am not. If I am, we will __all__ pay the price.."_

* * *

"All right, this blue one into the ninth slot.."

Vincent obliged by carrying out Nanaki's orders, placing the materia in the gate as instructed.

"And... let's try that red one in the fifth slot. Remove the other one.." Nanaki said, his eyes still fixed on the chart above.

"How are we doing on that gate, guys?" Yuffie asked as she and Cloud entered the chamber. Cloud had wiped away the trickle of blood, but he still looked more disheveled than usual.

"Still nothing." Vincent replied.

"Wait... You guys were here the whole time?" Cloud asked.

"Of course... where else would we be?" Nanaki replied, puzzled by his question.

Cloud shook his head slowly, rubbing his forehead with his free hand. "Never mind."

"You said something about 'waiting for you'.." Vincent added. "And then you just left."

Cloud was alarmed by these news. Breaking off from the conversation before it developed any further, he ushered Yuffie over to the far corner of the room for a more private conversation. Once he was satisfied that the two of them were out of earshot, he turned to the girl. "Yuffie... Before I left the room, did I say anything else?" he asked, worried.

"Mmm..." Yuffie's face scrunched up for a second as she searched her memory. "..you said something about 'letting someone die', I think. At least, that's what I _heard_. That's why I followed you.."

"I see.." Cloud said. He gave her hand a light squeeze, and did his best to give her a reassuring smile. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Yuffie replied, returning his smile. "Cloud?" she said, as he made towards the center of the room again.

"Yeah?" he replied, turning back toward her.

"Do you think you can hold it together?" she asked, a genuinely concerned look in her eyes.

"..I'll try." he replied, hoping his voice didn't sound as hollow as it felt.

"Okay." Yuffie said. "C'mon. Let's see how Vince and Red are doing."

The two of them walked over to where Nanaki and the others were gathered, all efforts concentrated on trying to get the gate to work.

Tifa shook her head, sighing. "It still doesn't make any sense..."

"Maybe there are instructions inscribed somewhere," Reeve suggested. "Perhaps in the room with the murals."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look," Nanaki replied. "Exhaust all options, as it were."

"Anything we can do to help?" Yuffie asked as she and Cloud rejoined the group.

"Get me something to write with, would you?" Nanaki asked. Yuffie obliged, digging through her backpack for a pencil and a piece of paper.

"Hold the paper still for me," Nanaki instructed, taking the pencil into his mouth. Yuffie bent down in front of him, holding the square piece of paper in place while Nanaki, with some effort, drew a complex-looking symbol on its surface.

Finally done, Nanaki spat the pencil back out. "Go into the mural room and look for this symbol. Let me know if you find anything."

"What about you?" Tifa asked.

"I'll have to go outside and observe the sky," Nanaki explained. "Which means heading back to the surface."

"Looks like we're splitting up." Yuffie said.

"So, who's going with who?" Reeve asked.

"Vince, you mind taking Nanaki groundside?" Cloud asked the gunman next to him.

"Not at all." Vincent replied.

"I'll come with you." Tifa said.

"So I guess that leaves me, Yuffie and Reeve." Cloud said, looking the group over.

"Sounds good." Reeve replied. "Let's get moving."

* * *

There were thousands of different symbols engraved into the azure walls, nestled deep inside the layered crystal blocks. But so far, none of them resembled the one Nanaki had asked them to find.

Yuffie stared glumly at the wall in front of her, sighing, kicking away a small crystalline pebble at her foot. "These things all look the same to me.." she said, to no-one in particular.

"Funny. I would have thought you'd be first one to spot the differences, given the complexity of your own people's written language." Reeve replied, carefully inspecting the walls a few feet away from her.

Yuffie snorted. "You kidding? It's child's play compared to... to _this_.." she said, gesturing irritably at the endless rows of strange letters.

"Huh... if you say so." Reeve replied

He moved closer to the young ninja. "Hey, uh, listen.." he said as he approached her, keeping his voice low, so as not to attract the attention of the blond swordsman, currently situated on the far side of the room. "I didn't want to say anything, but... is he all right?" he asked, glancing briefly towards Cloud, before returning his gaze to the young girl.

"What do you mean?" Yuffie asked, trying to sound as though she didn't know what Reeve was talking about. But she could tell that he wasn't buying her act.

"Look, we've all noticed it." Reeve said. "Ever since we first came into contact with these new Jenova creatures, he's been acting flakey. I mean, how long can it be before he suffers a complete mental b-"

"Reeve, it's Cloud, all right?" Yuffie interrupted him. "He's always been a little flakey. He'll come through when it counts."

Reeve stole another side-long glance at the blond swordsman. "I hope you're right." he said to Yuffie, before walking away.

_"So do I.."_ Yuffie thought.

She sighed again, leaning up against the wall. She let the lower half of her body go limp, sliding down into a sitting position, resting her head on her crossed arms. "How the hell did we end up in this situation?" she whispered to herself. "I've had enough of this place. I just want to go _home_."

"Why don't you take a short break?" Cloud said. Yuffie looked up. She hadn't noticed the blond swordsman approaching her. "I doubt we'll find much in here, anyway." he added, as he sat down next to her.

"What about you?"

"I'll stay down here a little longer. See if Reeve and I turn up anything."

"You sure?" Yuffie asked. "I mean.."

"I'm okay." Cloud replied. "I guess I'm all right, as long as I have something to keep me occupied."

"Yeah, but.."

"Yuffie..." Cloud said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine." he reassured her.

She looked into his eyes, azure meeting silver for a brief second, before tearing her gaze away. "All right." she replied. Cloud withdrew his hand, standing up again.

He turned back to the young girl, offering his hand, pulling Yuffie back up to her feet. The two of them lost their balance momentarily from the quick movement, bumping up against one another. Yuffie looked up to see Cloud looking down at her, half-expectantly. She knew that she must have had a similar expression on her face, from the look in his eyes. They were up close against each other. Very close..

Reluctantly, she moved further away from him. A few seconds of nervous silence passed between them, before Yuffie broke the silence. "Uh... guess I'll go see how Nanaki's doing.." she said, scratching the back of her head, casting her gaze slightly downwards, an old nervous reflex.

"Right..." Cloud replied, nodding. She thought she could hear a certain reluctance in his tone of voice as well. "Be careful up there."

"Yeah.." Yuffie said, heading up the circular staircase. "Keep an eye on him, would you?" she whispered to Reeve on her way out.

"You got it." Reeve said, watching her as she left.

* * *

"Find anything yet?" Tifa asked, rubbing her upper arms to ward off the encroaching cold of the night.

"Possibly.." Nanaki replied. The half-lion absent-mindedly whispered fragmented phrases regarding mathematical concepts and astronavigation to himself, his auburn tail swaying slowly back and forth as he watched the night sky.

Tifa looked up briefly as well, before turning her gaze towards Vincent, approaching the two of them. She took his hand, and led him a little ways off, out of earshot of the animal scholar. Then she reached her arms around her lover's neck and pulled him towards her, into a long kiss and a lingering embrace.

The two of them stood there for a while, amongst the shadows of the pillar-like crystal shards rising from the sand, without saying anything.

"It's cold tonight." Vincent said, moving to wrap his arms around her from behind.

"Yeah." Tifa replied.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied, but Vincent had known her long enough to know she wasn't telling the truth. But he had also known her long enough to know that she would tell him, in due time, whatever it was that she was currently keeping from him.

"I really do wonder if they can hear us..?" she said, in a voice so quiet Vincent wondered whether she was talking to him, or to herself.

"Even if they could, would they really care?" she continued in that same hushed voice. "After all, what's the fate of a few mortals to that yawning blackness?"

"Nothing," Vincent replied. "But to us, it's everything."

"Yes.." Tifa whispered, turning to him to share another long, sensuous kiss.

"_..Everything_."

* * *

"Hey, Cloud?" Reeve said, approaching the blond swordsman, who was carefully studying the glyphs on one of the mural room's contoured walls.

"Yeah?" Cloud replied, without taking his eyes off the murals.

"When I was aboard the Highwind earlier, Cid and I talked to Sigil about those bodies we found at Ajit."

"The ones we left in cold storage back in Rocket Town, you mean?"

"Yeah." Reeve went on. "I asked him if they were Cetra. He wouldn't commit to an answer. When I told him about the masks that they were wearing, that it looked like they had been grafted on by force, he went cold, just like that. Dropped the conversation immediately. You think there's anything to that?"

"Who knows?" Cloud replied. "Let's just keep focused on where we are right now."

Reeve shrugged, heading over to the other side of the room. "You're the boss."

"So you guys keep telling me," Cloud muttered under his breath.

"What?" Reeve asked, having partially caught his comment.

"Nothing," Cloud said, making a dismissive gesture with his hand. "never mind."

Reeve merely shook his head, turning his attention towards the writings on the far side of the room.

Cloud continued to stare at the murals and glyphs, trying to spot the ones Nanaki had asked for, or at the very least trying to locate a pattern. No such luck. He looked down towards the ground, sighing.

Then, he heard something. A sound... no... a voice, calling out to him, just at the edge of hearing. He looked over to where Reeve was, to see if he had heard it as well. The older man showed no signs of having heard anything.

Cloud began to wonder if he had really heard anything, after all. Then it came again, calling his name. That familiar voice, like something from early childhood, coming from deep within the Palace's foundations.

He turned away from the murals, looking through the doorway leading down into the catacombs and beyond.

_"Cloud.."_

* * *

Yuffie spotted Nanaki on the beach, along with Tifa and Vincent, some distance away. Tifa, she noticed, was wrapped in Vincent's cape. The two of them were completely enveloped in their own private world, as far as she could tell.

"Yep. Still doing their lovey-dovey couple thing, like always," she thought, rolling her eyes. "Wonder if they ever catch themselves doing or saying something too corny and get all embarrassed about it? Probably not."

The young ninja briefly pondered what they might or might not be talking about, then wandered over to where Nanaki was sitting on the beach, head turned skywards. In spite of herself, and the current situation, a mischievous grin crossed her features as she sauntered up to the unsuspecting quadruped.

Without warning, she kicked Nanaki in the shins, or at least their closest approximation. Loose enough so as not to hurt, but hard enough to be felt. Nanaki gave a loud yelp, more out of surprise than pain.

"Hey, c'mon, play with me," Yuffie said.

"Yuffie, what are you doing!?" Nanaki growled.

"Look, you've been cracking your skull on this whole thing for hours," Yuffie replied. "I thought you might want to take a break. You know, play or something."

"Yuffie," Nanaki began, drawing himself to his full height, to the best of his ability. He gave her a stern look, speaking to her in as patronizing a tone of voice as he could summon. "I am currently engaged in extremely complex calculations which, if they are off by even the merest fraction, could mean the death of us all. I do not have time to _play_."

Yuffie was taken aback by Nanaki's sudden harshness. She tried as best she could to disguise the hurt look on her face, but she knew she wouldn't be able to keep the facade up for long. "Fine. Suit yourself," she said, turning away, heading back towards the palace. Nanaki simply shook his head, turning his attention back to his task.

Fighting back the tears, Yuffie walked down the steps leading into the lower antechamber. When she finally reached the last steps, to her surprise she found only Reeve there, poring over the hieroglyphs, much the way she'd left him.

"Where's Cloud?" she asked, looking around the chamber.

Reeve looked up from his work, surprised to see her again so soon. He hadn't noticed the blond swordsman slip away. "I..." he started.

"Damn it, Reeve! I told you to keep an eye on him!" Yuffie chastised him. She didn't wait for Reeve's reply. Dashing off down through the catacombs, she drew out her combat shuriken, preparing for anything that might get in her way.

"Wait!" Reeve called, running after her, but she was already disappearing down the steps leading to the foundations. He glowered momentarily. Left with only one choice to make, go after her, or fetch the others. Reluctantly, he decided on the latter.

* * *

Cloud blinked, trying as best he could to pierce the veil of darkness down there in the depths of the earth. He felt that he was descending. Not just in the physical sense, but in a mental or spiritual one as well. With no-one else around, he could finally do so, without any obstructions.

As strange as it seemed to him, he _wanted_ this. He wanted to descend. To fall, if only to see how far he could. The Avalanchers's current situation, finding a way back home, taking on the Jenova army roaming above ground, helping out the Cetra survivors... the importance of all these things seemed to simply wash away.

And he was fine with that. Here lay the ultimate truth. Every fibre of his being told him so. And yet, there was a voice in the back of his mind, screaming at him, telling him to turn back. He forced it out of existence, walking on down the last steps leading into the star chamber.

The chamber itself contained little in the way of light, scarcely enough to make out the basic shapes of the columns, neatly arranged in two concentric circles around the center, and the gate itself.

"I know you're there," he said, walking towards the center of the room. He sensed the presence that had been following him all this time. Its aura was stronger now than ever before.

Something moved in the shadows. He turned to see a lithe figure step out from behind one of the pillars. Someone that he recognized instantly. The lithe figure, the velvet dress, chestnut locks and verdant eyes. It was her.

Aerith Gainsborough.

Standing right there in front of him, plain as day. This was no illusion.

"Hello, Cloud," she greeted him. Her eyes sparkled, and her soft, melodic laughter filled the chamber as she walked towards him.

"No.." he whispered, shrinking away from her, shaking his head. "No. You're not real. You _can't_ be real."

She smiled at him, that same warm smile he recognized. The one he had longed to see again, if only once more. But there was no warmth behind it. Her presence and gestures betrayed a subtle sense of mocking caricature, her words imbued with a feeling of venom as she spoke them.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

* * *

**Author's Notes**

I don't know where to begin. I guess I should apologize for having taken so long with this particular chapter. I won't bore you with the usual excuses. Suffice to say that I've been busy.

Anyway, I decided to split this chapter into two parts, since some of you guys felt the last one had run on a bit long. I'm pretty much done with the second half, so it should be up in day or so. Stay tuned.


	17. Fatal Mirage, part 2

**Through The Ashes Of Empires****  
****Chapter 17****  
****Fatal Mirage**

**Part II: A Mirror, Darkly**

* * *

Yuffie cursed in her native tongue as she ran into yet another dead end. It was a labyrinth down there. Even though she and the others had already made their way to the lowest levels of the Palace foundations, it was damn near impossible for her to retrace her steps in the pitch black darkness of the maze of corridors down there.

Just as she was about to head back up for help, she heard voices talking, coming from close by, just a little further down below. The star chamber.

_"No. You're not real. You can't be real.."_

"Cloud?" she said. "Cloud! Hang on, I'm coming!"

She dashed off again, running as fast as she could possibly force herself to, heedless of any dangers laying in her path.

* * *

"Miss me?" she asked. Her smile was at one saccharine sweet, and yet it carried a feeling of menace that was bone-chilling.

"Aerith.." Cloud said, nearly choking on the words. "...I'm so sorry."

"Why? What do _you_ have to be sorry for?" she asked, sarcasm tinting her amiable voice.

"I couldn't protect you."

She turned away from him. "You're right," she said, giving him a sideways glance. "You couldn't protect me."

All facade of kindness had evaporated from her voice, and she spoke now with unrestrained viciousness. "You can't protect your friends, either," she told him. "They're probably all dead. If they haven't simply abandoned you, that is."

She turned back towards him, pointing an accusing finger. "You can't protect anyone but yourself. Because you don't really _want_ to. How selfish of you. Surviving like that, while everyone around you can die, for all you care."

"Aerith.." Cloud whispered, stunned by her torrent of bile.

"You don't deserve to live," she told him, narrowing her eyes into thin slits.

"...You're right," he said, hanging his head. "I don't."

* * *

Yuffie bolted down the steps leading to the mezzanine above the star chamber. She heard the voices coming from below. Leaning out across the balcony, she could make out two figures in the shadows below. That was Cloud, all right, down in the star chamber, standing opposite to someone else. Some formless, black mass.

She watched, puzzled, as he knelt down in front of the blackened figure. A blade-like tentacle slowly extended from the creature's, hovering above his head.

"Cloud, what are you doing!?" she called.

* * *

Aerith towered over him, grinning that same remorseless grin. Blood trickled from her abdomen, staining her dress. The Masamune, Sephiroth's Masamune, extended from her hand. He hadn't seen her pick it up from anywhere, but there it was, gripped firmly in her hand.

"You should just die," she said.

He knelt down in front of her, dejected, eyes to the ground. "Do it. I don't care anymore," he told her.

She brought the Masamune down.

Something sharp flew through the air, slicing through the sword, and lodged itself in the ground before him. A giant shuriken. Yuffie's combat shuriken. The thing in front of him gave a shrill cry of pain, before shrinking back into the shadows.

Before he could get his bearing, the young ninja girl landed on the floor next to him, rolling to her feet. "What the hell are you doing?" she shouted at him. "Can't you see what that thing..?"

"Yuffie," a voice said, cutting her off. An older woman's voice. She turned around. The young ninja's face fell as another figure stepped out from the shadows.

"Mother?" she asked.

"Yes, my child. It's me," the woman said, approaching her.

Cloud peered at the woman. She was dressed in the traditional attire of the Wutaian people, a stately and graceful figure. She looked very much like an older version of Yuffie. But there was something off about her, as well. Something _wrong_..

"No, you're not. You're _not_ her!" Yuffie shouted, steeling herself. She thrust her combat shuriken out towards the approaching figure, gritting her teeth.

"Oh, but I _am_," the mother-facade replied. "What's wrong, dear? Don't you want to see your dear, sweet mother again? The one you left behind all those years ago?"

The flesh on the left side of her face began to rot away as she stalked towards the two of them. "You didn't think I'd _forgotten_ about that, did you?"

She raised her arms as she approached, flames trickling into existence all across her body, burning away her clothing and skin. She stared at them with blood-red eyes, speaking in a voice that couldn't possibly be human. "Come, children. It's time to die."

The mirage dissolved, revealing the grotesque black form of a Jenova spawn. The thing continued to edge towards the two of them, serrated tentacles raised in the air, poised to strike.

Two more razor-sharp tentacles shot out of the creature's body, aimed at the two of them. Yuffie batted one away with her shuriken, while Cloud sliced through the other one with an upwards motion. The monster screamed, inasmuch as it could, through the freakish mask of flesh that passed for its face. The sounds it made were horrifying to listen to.

Cloud and Yuffie split up, heading in separate directions, taking to the shadows. The monster lumbered after them, sliding across the dusty floor, leaving faint traces of noxious sludge in its wake.

The creature could vaguely sense the two beings in its presence, but in its current confused state, it couldn't deduce their exact locations. So it decided to force them out of hiding, instead. The monster lashed out its long, serrated tentacles in every direction, smashing them into the columns supporting the roof, cracking them, sending drifts of dust trailing to the floor.

_"Not good,"_ Yuffie thought. _"We can't stay hidden, or that thing'll bring the whole room crashing down on us."_

"Hey! Over here!" she called, stepping out of the shadows.

"Yuffie, what are you doing?" Cloud said.

"Yeah, that's it! Over here!" Yuffie taunted the monster. The shapeless thing turned slowly over to where she was standing.

As it turned to face the other direction, Cloud emerged from the shadows. He brought his sword down, slicing off two more of the creature's feelers, only to watch another three grow out of its body almost instantly.

Looking over to the other side of the room, he saw that Yuffie was struggling with the same problem. The Jenova creature was regenerating as quickly as they were damaging it. "How the hell do we kill it!?" she shouted, frustrated.

She and Cloud went back to hiding in the shadows, while the monster recovered. "We need to burn it," Cloud said.

"How do we do tha-" Yuffie began, dodging as a large tentacle came crashing in just over her head, shattering the column behind her. "Ah!"

Cloud moved over to where the monster was slithering around, preparing another strike, this time to its body. But the creature dodged as he swung, causing him to hit the gate in the center of the room.

More specifically, one of the materia lodged in the gate.

The materia blade cut through the orb as though it wasn't there. And then something truly spectacular happened. All the energy contained within the materia was released instantaneously. The effect was like detonating a bomb. The explosion rocked the chamber, sending both Cloud and the monster crashing back. Yuffie was knocked off her feet by the seismic wave caused by the blast.

Cloud picked himself up again, taking a defensive stance. The monster, he saw, had been badly hurt by the explosion. "What just happened!?" Yuffie called.

"It's our materia," Cloud said. "We can use it to kill this thing."

Yuffie nodded, uncertain. She wasn't sure exactly how they had done what they just did, but she know one thing: They had an advantage now. The young ninja began to rifle through her pockets for more materia, only to discover that she had almost none. "I don't have any!" she shouted.

Cloud checked his own pockets as well. Nothing. They had left all of their materia with the others, since it was useless on this world. He quietly cursed himself for it. "Check the gate!" he called back, taking to the shadows once again, staying out of the monster's sight.

Yuffie did as he instructed, sneaking up towards one side of the gate, grabbing as much materia as she could, before the monster spotted her. Cloud did the same, scouring the other side of the gate for any useful materia. He wondered whether they would all have the same effect, or whether it would depend on the type of materia. Maybe he had hit a fire materia by pure chance..

"What have you got?" he called. Yuffie checked her small collection of materia.

"I can't tell," she replied. "It's too dark!"

The monster roared at them, picking up on their voices in the darkness, and began to close in on the blond swordsman's position.

"Screw it!" Cloud said. "Just toss me something. Anything."

He noticed a flicker in the darkness as Yuffie threw something into the air. The materia orb flew through the darkness in a graceful arc, falling down into the space between Cloud and the monster. Cloud brought Sakhmet around in a sideways cut, slicing through the orb in half, releasing its energy.

A shower of ice shards exploded in every which direction. The Jenova creature took the worst of it, the tentacles and feelers at its front freezing solid, breaking off. The swordsman used the opportunity to move away, as the monster flailed about, surprised by this new kind of attack.

"Got one! It's fire!" Yuffie called, having had time to sense her materia's power. The two of them were right next to each other now.

"We need to get closer," Cloud said, brushing small ice crystals off his sword and clothing. "I need an in."

"I've got it," Yuffie replied, rolling the materia over to him. "Let's go!"

The two of them assaulted the Jenova creature simultaneously, with Yuffie slicing off and batting away its tentacles while Cloud made his way towards its main body. Once there, he sliced a sizeable cut into the monster's torso, then drove the materia well inside of it. Then he stepped back, raising the sword above his head.

"Burn," he said, bringing the heavy sword down.

The explosion was deafening, as the materia went off inside the monster's body, ripping it apart. The abomination's bloodied carcass fell to the floor, thrashing about, reaching out for its prey in its dying moments, before curling up, lifeless.

Then everything was silent.

* * *

"I killed her."

Although his voice was scarcely a whisper, it seemed to echo throughout the entire chamber. It felt as though an eternity had passed since the battle, but in reality it had only been a few minutes. But it truly seemed like time had ceased to exist. For the moment, it was just the two of them, down there in the deepest reaches of the earth. The only two people in the world.

Cloud was sitting up against the inner side of the gate, with Yuffie sitting opposite to him on the floor, both completely exhausted.

"Cloud..." Yuffie replied. The young ninja looked deep into his eyes, her voice softer than usual. "That wasn't her speaking. You know that, don't you?"

She got up and walked over and sat down next to him. "That wasn't Aerith, any more than it was my mother," she said. "It was you. You and me."

She looked up towards the chamber's ceiling as she continued. "It's the things that we keep telling ourselves. Maybe it's what you've wanted to hear all this time. You wanted to blame yourself for her death. But it's not true."

Yuffie looked at Cloud again, who was, quite frankly, surprised by her tenderness.

"She's not here anymore," Yuffie said to him. "She can't tell you this. So I'll tell you for her..

"She doesn't hate you. No one does," The young ninja looked away again. "But you hate yourself for not being able to help her."

She turned back to him. "And I know what that feels like. Believe me, I've been there."

Cloud looked at her, amazed. This was not the same, immature brat he had met years before. She retained that part of herself, but she was no mere child anymore. "Yuffie.."

The young ninja moved up a little closer, resting her head on his shoulder. "You know... for the longest time, I blamed myself for my mom's death," she told him. "I kept thinking 'if only I'd been stronger, "I might have been able to save her'. I might have been able to do something. Things might have been different."

"But you can't keep beating yourself up for something like that. There was nothing you could have done to save her, any more than I could to save my mother. It's just bad luck. Wrong time and wrong place, you know?"

"Unless you learn to let go of it, it'll keep eating you up inside, until there's nothing left," she told him giving him a more critical look. "Don't let that happen."

"I..." Cloud began, but he didn't know what to say, or even how to respond.

"You're not alone, remember?" Yuffie said, leaning in towards him. The kiss was sweet, cathartic. Everything they both wanted and needed right then and there. But then he pulled back, pushing her away before they'd finished.

"I'm can't..." he told her. "I'm sorry."

"What's wrong?" Yuffie said, disappointed, as he stood up. "You don't like me?"

"It's not that," Cloud said. "I just... I feel like I'm walking over her grave. Every time I.."

Yuffie shook her head, sighing. "You know what? Forget it," she said, standing up. "I thought we had something. But I guess I'm just that fucking stupid, huh?"

"Yuffie, wait.." Cloud called after her, as she stormed off up the stairs. He thought of what to say, but nothing would come to him. What _could_ he possibly say to her? He'd really hurt her this time, and that was something that he had _never_ intended.

He'd grown very fond of the young girl, since they had first met. Hell, he knew he loved her, but there was something that was holding him back. Something that had nursed him through difficult times, something that was now turning cancerous and vile.

He could feel that voice in the back of his head, clawing its way back into his psyche. _"Too bad,"_ it told him. _"but I'm sure she'll get over it. Then again, maybe she won't,"_ the voice continued. _"You know, Tifa didn't wait forever. Neither will she. And whose fault is that?"_

"You're right," Cloud said. "It is me. It's always been me. But this is where it ends. I don't need you anymore."

_"No, Strife,"_ the voice told him. _"You need me. You need me more than you could possibly imagine."_

"You don't get a say in the matter." Cloud said. He took to the stairs as well, determined to make things right.

* * *

Yuffie practically crashed into Tifa as she made her way back upstairs. She hadn't been watching where she was going, and her eyes were still watery.

"Yuffie?" Tifa said. "What was all that commotion?"

"Oh, uh... we ran into a thing," Yuffie articulated, as best she could in her disconcerted state. "It's okay. It's dead."

"You don't look okay," Vincent observed.

She looked back at the gunslinger, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm fine," she told him.

Tifa was about to add something to the discussion, when Cloud joined the group. All eyes fell upon him. "Look, I.." he began.

He and the others were interrupted, as a loud crashing sound came from below. "What was that?" Nanaki asked.

The Avalanchers headed back down into the star chamber. Tifa brought her hand up in front of her nose, overwhelmed by the nauseating odor rising from the Jenova monster's remains. "Ugh, geez. What the hell did you guys run into down here?"

"Hey, this thing _is_ dead, right?" Reeve asked. "Like _dead_ dead?"

"We'd better burn it right away," Nanaki said.

"I don't know what it was, exactly," Cloud said. "It made these... mirages. Images that weren't real."

"So, it preys on minds, then?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah."

"A Mirage Jenova.." Reeve said, examining the array of severed feelers and flesh. "Things just keep getting better and better, don't they?"

The group's ponderings were set aside as another loud crash sounded, closer this time, coming from the other side of the doorway Sigil had unlocked earlier. Then the doorway crashed open, and a bright light shone upon the Avalanchers. A pair of headlights emerged from the doorway. The group's dune buggy, driven by Cid and Barret.

"Hey, we miss anything?" Cid asked, grinning.

* * *

"Cripes alive, you're not kiddin'."

Cid whistled as he inspected the dead monster. He reached for one of his last cigarettes as the other Avalanchers prepared to set fire to the creature, lighting it on the flames as they blazed up, torching the Mirage Jenova's remains.

"So what do we do now? We got that thing up and running yet?" he asked, gesturing towards the gate.

"Almost," Nanaki replied. "We lost some materia earlier. We need to replace it. I also need to make a few adjustments and calculations, but it shouldn't take more than a few hours."

"Wait, you _lost_ some materia?" Cid asked. "How the jumpin' hell did that happen?"

"Ask them," Nanaki said, indicating Cloud and Yuffie with his head.

"Huh.." Cid replied, taking another drag from his cigarette.

"So I see you've opened the tunnel on the other side," Reeve said.

"Yeah. Beautiful, ain't it?" Cid asked. "Leads right back to that underground city. 'course, they've got some major defenses set up there now. They really wanted to keep something locked up in here."

"How'd you get the buggy through?" Reeve asked.

"We did a little tunneling," Barret replied. "That's why we took so long."

"I see," Reeve said. "Well, let's just hope we've already taken care of whatever it was the Cetra wanted to keep out."

"Hey, it can't be much worse than this thing, right?" Cid asked.

"I hope so," Reeve said. _"I really hope so.."_

* * *

The Avalanchers spent the night down in the star chamber, resting. Nanaki worked by the firelight, along with Cloud and Vincent, who took watches, keeping an eye on the others, making sure they were safe. Cloud kept a close eye on Yuffie, who had settled into a seemingly comfortable sleep. He hoped that she would talk to him tomorrow, but there was no telling what she thought of him now.

When they were done, they roused the others from their sleep. It was difficult to tell the passage of time, as there was no indication of whether it was day or night down there.

The group gathered its resources in the buggy, with Cid driving again. The rest of them stood by the gate, as Reeve, Vincent and Nanaki activated it. There was a brilliant flash of green as the gate crackled into life, followed by a low hum reverberating throughout the chamber.

"This is it," Tifa said. "You guys ready?"

"Let's rock'n'roll," Cid replied.

Cloud glanced over at Yuffie. She wouldn't look back at him. The stern look on her face indicated that she wouldn't want to for a long time. Apologies would have to wait for a better time, he decided.

With some trepidation, the Avalanchers crossed the gate as one, followed by the dune buggy. Again, the transition was jarring. The change from cool, musty air to sulfuric heat was unexpected to say the least. Dark blue was replaced by bright crimson. Everyone held their breath, paralyzed by the hellscape that now lay before them.

"My gods.."

"What the hell happened here..?"

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Well, that's the second half. No promises on when the next chapter is coming out, but hopefully sooner than these two. Anyway, we're entering the second half of the story arc now, so things should be picking up, in any case. There's trouble in paradise, yes, but as for the two main characters, they now have both confronted one of their worst fears, namely their own guilt. From here on, things can only get better for them. Right?

We'll see. Stay tuned.


	18. Home

_In your world, the day is no threat  
In my world, there is an absence of light _

_Genetic superior cell  
Controlled by the fathomless and unbearable  
A radical new form of plastic and rage  
Biologically optimized  
But with a strangling pulse_

_When we can no longer cry  
And reality is torn  
Then it's easy to forget  
That the responsibility lies on us all_

_In your world, the night is no threat  
In my world, the darkness  
Transforms to a vision of hell  
Populated by the fathomless  
and unbearable_

**Through the Ashes of Empires  
Chapter 18  
Home**

* * *

If the world they had just departed from was dying, this one was rotting. The sheer level of destruction was staggering. And yet, they all sensed that this world had been dying a long time before the war ever ravaged it.

They found themselves standing in the centre of another sprawling city, but this one possessed a far more mechanical, less natural look to it. The city bore a closer resemblance to Midgar than it did Ajit. The crimson sky, dirty air and black, oily water coursing underneath its elevated freeways reminded them of nothing so much as the environmental excesses of Shinra, taken to their inevitable conclusion.

Though in ruins, the city they now stood in seemed more intact than what they had seen of the Cetra capital. Clusters of buildings still stood here and there, looking like they had been blasted by a shockwave, but standing nonetheless. Many of the fallen buildings and structures around them formed crude, metallic spikes, rising from the ground, their jagged points rusting under the red skyline.

There was no sign of life, as far as they could tell.

"What is this place?" Yuffie asked.

"This is the Astra homeworld," Nanaki said, taking a few steps forward. He paced towards the edge of the square, suspended above the waters, taking in the full sight of the great city in its blighted repose. "This is where it all began. Where we all came from."

He turned back to the rest of the group, a grim look on his face.

"This… is home."

* * *

The buggy rolled slowly down one of the freeways, with Cid cautiously picking out a path between the wreckage and ruined vehicles in the streets. The suspended freeway had partially collapsed, and many sections of the road were either cracked or completely torn off, the fragments lying in the black waters below.

"Some home," Cid remarked, chewing on a fresh cigarette. "More like the ass-end of oblivion."

Yuffie, seated in the back, stared out the window closest to her, a look of weariness on her face. "How come there's no bodies?" she observed, as they passed another intersection.

The others looked out through their windows. The young ninja was right. The evidence of a great conflict was everywhere. Scores left by weapons fire, explosions, and gods knew what else. But strangely, there were no bodies to be seen anywhere. No withered husks or skeletal remains lying in the streets. Nothing.

"Perhaps someone came and removed them afterwards?" Reeve suggested.

"Yeah... but who?" Tifa wondered.

"Or what?" Vincent added. No-one cared to answer that question, much less think of the answer.

They drove on, passing from the freeway down an off-ramp leading into a central street flanked by tall buildings. Refuse and debris lay strewn all over the streets, making their passage difficult. Cid cursed under his breath as he rammed into one of the many broken vehicles in his path. The rest of the group caught hold of their seats as the buggy shook from the impact.

Cloud glanced over at Yuffie, who was sitting in the row in front of him. She still wouldn't deign to look at him, but her facial expression had softened considerably since their last exchange, her anger giving way to genuine curiosity regarding their new surroundings. Maybe he would have a chance to patch things up with her, after all..

"Aw, hell.." Cid grumbled, catching the swordsman's attention.

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

"Dead end," the pilot replied, bringing the buggy to a halt.

The others looked out the front windshield. A building had collapsed on the road in front of them, cutting off their path. The roads on either side of the vehicle were similarly obstructed, one strewn with debris, the other coming to a broken end, leading nowhere but into the oily waters below.

"Well, we're not going any further this way," Cid said. "Think we should turn back?"

"There's nowhere else to go," Reeve said. "The roads are pretty much all blocked. We'll be lucky if we find another route anywhere."

"Looks like we walk," Tifa said.

"Great," Barret said. "I was hopin' I'd get to wander through a whole 'nother city full o'fucked up monsters."

"Maybe there aren't any out here," Tifa replied.

"With our kinda luck?" Cid said, opening the driver's side door. "Don't count on it."

The rest of the Avalanchers exited the vehicle as well, stretching and gathering their equipment.

"So much for the comfort and safety of our little dune buggy," Yuffie said.

"Safety, hell," Cid mumbled. "I wager if we stayed in that thing we'll probably end up going up against some monster with a giant can opener for a mouth."

"Just remember where we left it," Vincent remarked. "In case we need to beat a hasty retreat."

"By all means," Yuffie commented. "I love hasty retreats, especially successful ones."

"Where are we heading, by the way?" Tifa asked, directing her question to Cloud, who was scouting the area. "So far, we've just been driving around aimlessly."

"Let's find a vantage point," Cloud replied, hefting his sword. "And keep an eye out for other gates."

The group began to clamber up through and past the crumbling ruins, making their way further along the road.  
"Speaking of which, that one we came through isn't going to stay open forever, is it?" Reeve asked.

"No," Nanaki replied. "I estimate that we have about forty hours left until it closes."

"In which case we'd be stranded here," Yuffie remarked. "Forever."

"And that's assuming nothing goes wrong," Nanaki added. "Somehow I doubt that the new Cetra homeworld can sustain these gates for very long. Their planet is in bad shape, to say the least."

"So we get back before anything bad happens," Tifa said.

"Here's hoping," Yuffie replied.

* * *

The Avalanchers trudged on under the broiling heat of the midday sun. Dust and trash lined the desolate streets. Thick power lines and severed cables lay everywhere, spilling from the broken buildings, across the roads and even hanging from the ruined skyscrapers, like the entrails of some great mechanical beast.

"Damn. Who'd wanna live in a place like this?" Barret said. "Even Midgar wasn't this bad."

"If there's a hell for architects, this is it," Yuffie muttered.

"It wasn't always like this," Nanaki told them. "This world was prosperous once."

"Hard to believe that," Tifa said.

"So, what happened?" Reeve asked.

"The war." Nanaki replied. "Or rather, the cause of the war. The Astra favored technology, while the Cetra opposed it, leaning more towards harmony with nature, in keeping with their beliefs and powers. They didn't reject technology outright, but they thought the Astra were going to far in their pursuit of it."

"Feel like I've heard that story before," Yuffie said.

"Indeed," Nanaki replied. "The history of the Cetra and the Astra mirrors our own, in many ways."

"But how did the war actually start?" Cloud asked.

"As I said, the two factions had differing views regarding technology and its place in nature," Nanaki continued. "The Cetra felt that the Astra and their pursuit of technology would lead to disaster. Conversely, the Astra viewed the Cetra as apostates, believing they would stunt their civilization's true progress. And so, a violent civil war began. The Cetra fought with everything they had, but they succumbed to the Astra's technological might, and they were subjugated, and subjected to harsh treatment as social outcasts. That's what the term itself means: 'Outsider'. It was seen as a great insult, but the Cetra took the name for themselves and bore it with pride."

"I see.." Cloud replied.

"Around this time, it is said that a hero appeared. He rebelled against the Astra empire, and led the Cetra to freedom. There was a mass exodus. The imprisoned Cetra escaped and fled this world. He was hailed as a champion, and made their ruler," Nanaki said. "Then the real war began."

"The real war?" Tifa asked.

"The Cetra began striking at the Astra, using their gates and their innate ability of borrowing power from the planets themselves," Nanaki said. "And the Astra struck back, attacking the Cetra colonies without mercy. Their real target, the new Cetra homeworld, however, remained a mystery to them."

"So, who won?" Yuffie asked. "From what we've seen, it kinda looks like both sides got trashed."

"That's... where the history gets a little vague," Nanaki admitted. "During this time, the Astra's emerging technology bloomed quickly, but then it is as though everything came to a violent halt. The Cetra, too, largely retreated from their smaller colonies towards their homeworld, and they stopped their attacks altogether. Something that the Astra had created had them dead scared."

"And that is..?" Vincent asked.

"I'd tell you if I knew, but like I said, that's where the story becomes unclear," Nanaki answered.

"Well, I seen plenty in the last coupla days that justifies gettin' freaked out," Cid commented.

"Indeed," Nanaki agreed.

* * *

"You see that?" Cloud asked.

"What?" Cid asked.

"Here, take a look," Cloud replied, passing Cid the binoculars he'd been using to scout the terrain ahead.

"That structure up ahead. Looks fairly intact," Cloud told him. "Like it's been maintained."

Cid peered through the binoculars, focusing them on a tall tower some distance away. It didn't merely seem intact, as some of the other buildings, but largely undamaged.

"Looks like a fortress or something," Cid replied, handing the binoculars to the rest of the Avalanchers, who took turns examining the structure.

"You want to go take a look?" Vincent asked.

"Doesn't look like there's much else here," Cloud replied.

"Yeah, I suppose," Cid acquiesced. "It's within walking distance, anyhow."

"We'll have to get back before dark," Tifa said. "We can't run the risk of being stranded here."

"No, indeed," Barret replied.

"All right," Cloud said. "Let's go."

They continued walking through the city's streets, with an eye towards the tower in the distance. Their path was still strewn debris and rubble, but less so as they made their way towards the city center. As they moved forward, the streets began to taper off into a series of elevated highways, chaotically thrown together, as though without any real plan or design in mind. Underneath it all lay the black rivers, dotted with what looked like trains and cars, lying in the water, along with entire chunks of buildings that had broken away and slid down below.

As they turned a corner, Yuffie held her nose. "Oh, that is rank.." she said, eying Barret suspiciously.

"Don't look at me," Barret replied. "Musta been somethin' you ate."

"No, I mean, that is really ripe," Tifa said, holding her nose as well. "What is that?"

"I smell it, too," Nanaki said. "This way. Around the next corner."

The Avalanchers turned another corner past a tall building building, only to come upon a grizzly scene. Nanaki turned away, the odor nearly overwhelming his olfactory senses.

"Fuck me," Cid muttered, the cigarette nearly dropping from his mouth.

Five desiccated bodies hung from a metal beam, upside down, strange gas-masks grafted onto their faces. The threadbare clothing they had worn was ripped to shreds, and the flesh underneath had been torn open, leaving their entrails exposed, hanging out.

"This is... wrong," Yuffie said, horrified.

Cloud, undeterred by the gruesome sight, moved closer, examining one of the bodies. "These look fresh.."

"They are," Nanaki said, approaching. "Relatively speaking. This took place perhaps a week ago."

Cloud leaned in closer, examining the features beneath the masks. "They're Cetra."

"Yes," Nanaki replied.

Moving closer, they noticed that something was carved into the wall just behind the bodies, words hastily scrawled into the concrete before their demise, perhaps.

"Last words?" Vincent mused.

"What's it say?" Tifa asked. "Can you read it?"

Nanaki walked over to the wall. "Comus... tetrehea," he said, turning to the others. "'Comus lives'."

"Comus?" Yuffie asked. "What's that mean?"

"It's bad," Nanaki replied, shaking his head.

"Bad?" Reeve asked.

"It'll take some explaining," Nanaki said. "Let us find a more suitable place."

The Avalanchers walked a short distance away from the disturbing scene, taking seats upon the rocks and broken cars lining the roadway. Nanaki sat down on the dusty road in the middle of the group. "The Cetra had their hero, the Emperor," he began. "The Astra, too, had their champion, Comus. A vicious warlord who rose to power during the later years of the war."

The various Avalanchers adjusted their positions as they listened to Nanaki's story.

"He bore many names among the Astra and Cetra alike," Nanaki continued. "'The torturer'. 'The butcher'. His brutality was legendary, matched only by his lust for war and his acumen for strategic victory. It is said that he killed the Cetra's emperor, and drove the Cetra underground."

Nanaki looked over the city, as he spoke. "Even after his supposed death, people feared him. He became a sort of boogeyman in the Cetra's chronicles. Some say he was not of this world at all.."

"And did he really die?" Yuffie asked, dangling her feet off the edge of one of the rusted cars.

"I certainly hope so," Nanaki said. "Comus made Shinra's methods of interrogation look tame and gentle. He was undoubtedly one of those who led both worlds to their ruin, such was his bloodlust and insanity."

"Great. And here I was, thinkin' we'd seen the worst that the world had to offer," Cid commented.

"I fear we have been naïve in thinking so," Nanaki replied. "This all took place several hundred years ago, if not longer. But if it's true.."

"What, a centuries-old dead tyrant? I figure that's the least of our worries," Cid replied, tossing aside his spent cigarette.

"I agree," Cloud said, getting up. "We're wasting time. We'll get a quick look at the tower, then head back to the gate. Let's move."

And so they were on their way again, moving through the ruined city, its mid-day sun bearing down heavily upon them.

* * *

Every now and then, they would pass an angular, almost square-shaped arch, not unlike the Cetra gateways, but more crude and mechanical in their design.

"Hey, Red," Yuffie spoke up. "Are those gates?"

"Yes, and no," Nanaki replied. "Those would be the Astra approximation of gates."

As he spoke, they stopped by one of the gate replicas in question. "The gates were the Cetra's greatest weapon. They could transport themselves over vast distances, and even craft gates on other worlds before moving through, allowing them to strike from great distances, then retreat before anyone could counter their offensive." Nanaki explained. "The Astra tried to build their own, but they could never quite make them work."

"They just broke down?" Tifa asked.

"No, it's just that their people never emerged in the intended locations," Nanaki said. "They never re-emerged from the gates at all, in fact."

"Well, this place just gets better and better," Reeve commented.

"So what happened to'em?" Yuffie asked. "They end up trapped in space, or between dimensions, or something?"

"No-one knows," Nanaki said, as they moved on.

"Well, here we are," Reeve said.

They stood at the end of a long bridge, the other end connecting to the tower's main entrance, flanked by high walls. The building resembled that of a tower, built on top of a fortress, rising to dizzying heights. Much of the ground beneath the fortress was hollowed out, spreading out into vast moats and deadfalls, the rest of the fortress accessible only by similar bridges, suspended in the air. The very structure itself, isolated from the rest of the city, exuded an air of violence and menace.

"Towers.." Cid commented, taking a drag on his cigarette. "Why is it always towers?"

"Wait," Cloud said, gripping the handle of his sword. "Did you see that?"

"What?" Vincent said, casually flanking the swordsman, hand resting on his gun.

"I thought I saw something moving," Cloud said.

The Avalanchers stood still for a brief while, alert, ready to draw their weapons.

"I don't see nothin'," Barret said. "You sure you're ain't just jumping at shadows?"

"I'm sure," Cloud replied.

"'cause you were kinda shaky back there," Cid added.

"I'm fine," Cloud insisted.

The hallucinations and the strength of the mirages he had seen in recent days had subsided since he'd exited the fallen Cetra palace. He'd felt relieved to be out of there, as if something inside the place had been magnifying his visions.

As he and the others relaxed their guard, and began crossing the bridge, he thought back to what Yuffie had said to him back at the palace. "Unless you learn to let go of it, it'll keep eating you up inside, until there's nothing left.."

"Yeah... the past has a funny way of doing that.." he muttered to himself, as they approached the inner circle.

"You say somethin'?" Cid asked.

"Never mind," Cloud said. "Just be on your guard. I know I saw something."

"Naw, man," Barret replied. "Ain't nothin' here. This place is a tomb."

Yuffie snorted. "And what does that make us? Grave robbers?"

"More like undertakers," said Vincent.

"Gotta lay the past to rest sometime, right?" Tifa said.

"Yeah, I guess.." Yuffie said.

"All right... in we go," Reeve said.

Cloud eyed the shadows inside the vast entrance warily. Despite the dilapidated condition of the place, and its seeming lack of life, there were sure to be threats lying somewhere nearby. Those bodies they had seen earlier hadn't come out of nowhere.

The others, too, could not help a sense of foreboding. The place's past was dark, there was no doubt of that, but just how much of it remained alive?

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

It's been a long silence. And it might have been longer still, had it not been for a sincere and open request for me to keep writing. You know who you are. Thanks.

The reasons aren't really all that important. Suffice it to say that the past two years I've been quite busy, and regarding what spare time I've had, I've spent very little of it writing. But if people want to keep reading this story, I'll keep writing it.

The truth is, this chapter has lain dormant on my hard drive for a long while, unfinished. I'd had little inclination to complete it, due to the sheer amount of exposition, bordering on an info-dump. But the next chapters should be moving forward more quickly, and with less need to explain everything.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I'll see you next chapter.


	19. Cocytus

_tros anchisiade,  
__facilis descensus auerno  
__noctes atque dies patet atri ianua ditis  
__sed reuocare gradum  
__superasque euadere ad auras,  
__hoc opus, hic labor est_

_it is easy to go down to Hell  
night and day the gates of oblivion stand wide  
but to climb back up again,  
to retrace one's steps to the open air,  
there lies the problem  
_-Virgil, The Aeneid, Book VI

**Through the Ashes of Empires****  
****Chapter 19****  
****Cocytu****s**

* * *

Death. The halls themselves were stained with it, the vast structure's cold, onyx walls winding in every direction. The same wild, chaotic architecture they had observed in the city outside could be seen everywhere, as though it flowed from this central point, like parasitic growth, strangling the very ground upon which it rose, choking away everything in its path.

The malevolence of its past was engraved into the very place itself, like the great sarcophagus of some ancient evil. The stale air and tenebrous ambiance of the place did little to put the Avalanchers at ease. Though they had encountered no resistance thus far, they could not help the feeling that they were being watched.

"Man, I take back what I said," Barret grumbled. "This is place is givin' me the chills already."

His words echoed down the empty corridors, which seemed to go on forever.

"Yeah, the sooner we're out of here, the better," Yuffie said, glancing back and forth warily, gripping her combat shuriken a bit more firmly than usual.

Clearly, the place had once been the height of the Astra civilization's technological invention, but it had fallen into disuse, its inhabitants long dead, by all appearances. The scant lighting seemed to emanate from all sides, slivers of light seeping through the myriad of misshapen pipes and bars that made up the walls and ceiling of the tower. There was barely a straight line or flat wall to be seen anywhere, as though the structure itself had taken on a life of its own, spiralling out of control, demanding to be built without thought or care.

As they continued through the tower's gloomy interior, they soon realized that they were walking in circles, tracing and retracing their steps through the same corridors.

"We're lost, aren't we?" Yuffie said.

"This place is a maze, that's for sure," Reeve commented.

"There's gotta be signposts or something," Barret said. "You can't tell me these people knew their way around just by looking."

"There's something over here," Tifa said, pointing out a panel on the far wall.

They approached the panel, upon which words were engraved in an unfamiliar script.

"A sign," Reeve said. "Let's see what it says. Red?"

"It's not Cetra script..." Nanaki replied. "But it's based around the same core concepts, it seems."

"Can you translate it?" Cloud asked.

"Give me a minute.." Nanaki replied, squinting, focusing on the letters. "Upper floors, subterranean storage, root chamber, feeding chamber.."

"Wait... 'feeding chamber'?" Yuffie asked.

"A feeding chamber for what, exactly?" Tifa asked.

"Because we've got enough uglies to worry about already," Cid remarked, crossing his arms.

"I may not be translating it right," Nanaki pointed out. "It could mean 'mess hall' or something akin to that. Anyway, it also says something about a control station, and prison cells."

"Prison cells?" Cloud asked. "Where?"

"Down below," Nanaki said. "about thirty-five floors or so."

"Only thirty-five, huh?" Yuffie replied sarcastically. "Good thing I brought my climbing gear."

"There's an elevator not far from here," Nanaki said.

"Let's hope it still works." Tifa said.

"Why?" Cid asked. "You really feel like going down deeper into this hell-hole?"

"We don't have a choice," Cloud pointed out. "We still need to find a working gate, remember?"

His words cut any argument short. "Besides," he added, "if we back out now, who knows what'll follow us when we go back home?"

He looked at each of the other Avalanchers in turn. Their reluctance to proceed further was clear. He could see as much in their eyes, but they all knew they had to press onward. Yuffie avoided his gaze altogether, though he couldn't tell whether it was because she was still angry with him, or whether it was simply out of an unwillingness to acknowledge their situation.

"We head for the prison cells first," Cloud said, taking the mantle once again as the group's unofficial leader. "Then the control station. Let's move."

* * *

"No echo," Vincent said.

They all watched as the pipe he had dropped vanished down the elevator shaft, the lighting too faint to pierce the darkness below.

"Just how deep down does this place go?" Reeve wondered.

"See if you can call the elevator," Cloud told Cid.

The pilot walked over to the nearby control panel, scratching his chin as he looked it over. Then, without warning, he tore the metal cover off the panel, exposing a tangled mess of wires. Reaching inside, he started pulling wires apart and tying them back together haphazardly, until finally something heavy and mechanical could be heard moving from up above. A few moments later, a wide cargo elevator platform sank down to their floor, coming to a halt just above the step.

Satisfied, Cid walked away from the panel, patting his hands together and grinning. "There, I fixed it," he said.

As he uttered the words, a rogue spark flew from the control box, causing the elevator to suddenly drop a few more inches, before coming to a halt again. "Sorta," he added, sheepishly.

"Sorta?" Yuffie said, sneering. "Like, we're only 'sorta dead' if this thing doesn't hold."

"Hey, I'm a mechanic, not an engineer," Cid replied defensively.

"Yeah, a dead one if you wired something backwards," Yuffie shot back.

"It'll hold, princess" Cid told her. "I just crossed a couple o'wires, that's all. It's not rocket surgery."

"I'll be doing surgery on your face if you're wrong," Yuffie said, waving her shuriken in the captain's face.

"Break it up, you two," Tifa said, stepping in between them. "We need to get down there."

"Do we really?" Cid asked, irritated. The others all gave him a look that told him leaving wasn't an option.

"Alright... doesn't hurt to ask." he mumbled, throwing his hands up in resignation as he joined the others on the elevator.

"Anybody got any smokes?" he asked, as the elevator's guard rails came up. His question was met with more silence.

"Yeah... didn't think so." he sighed.

The elevator was still for a moment. Then, very slowly, it started to move, sinking down to the lower levels.

"...And so, we begin our descent." Vincent remarked.

"Shaddup," Cid replied.

* * *

"Could this thing be any slower?" Nanaki asked.

Several minutes had passed, as the elevator gradually moved them further down into the ancient tower's core.

"Just be glad it's not getting any faster," Yuffie replied, slowly pacing back and forth, looking over the cold metal walls surrounding the darkened elevator shaft.

"I said I fixed it," Cid replied testily. "It'll hold, or my name ain't Cid Highwind."

The Avalanchers stood scattered around the heavy platform, all on edge. They knew they were at a precarious moment. A lack of resistance was a constant danger in itself, as put them at a risk of lowering their guard at the wrong moment. And yet, keeping a constant vigil would wear them out, threatening to leave them fatigued at a critical moment. As such, they were engaged in a careful balancing act, some of them taking a moment to move or stretch as the others kept watch.

"It's cold.." Yuffie said, a thin cloud of vapor escaping from her lips as she spoke.

The others, too, noted the sudden drop in temperature, their breath becoming visible in the air as they descended.

"Yeah... I always thought Hell would be warm," Reeve said, rubbing his hands together.

"Perhaps it froze over?" Vincent commented.

All of a sudden, a chorus of screams echoed through the elevator shaft, like the wailing of the damned.

"Okay, what the fuck was that?" Cid said, drawing and readying his spear. "Seriously, why the fuck are we even in this place?"

"You want run away from this now?" Cloud asked, walking up to the captain, staring him in the eye. "We need to know what happened here," he told him. "We _need_ to be here."

"You really believe that?" Tifa asked, stepping in between the two. Moments ago, she had been pushing the group forward, and yet even she now seemed ready to abandon the cause. The group's resolve was wavering, and Cloud couldn't say he blamed them for it. But they were already committed to their task. Backing out was no longer an option for them.

"If not us, then who?" Cloud asked them.

Before they could argue any further, they were interrupted by a jolt, as the elevator came to a stop.

"Prison," Nanaki said, reading the sign on the wall opposite the elevator.

"Look, we'll be out of here soon, I promise," Cloud said in a conciliatory tone of voice. "But right now, I need you all to focus. We're the best at what we do, so let's do it. Are you with me?"

The others nodded in unison, their morale lifted somewhat by their leader's confidence in them.

"Vincent and I will take point," Cloud said as they stepped out of the elevator. "Barret and Reeve take the rear. The rest of you watch our flanks. Let's get moving."

They stepped out of the elevator and onto the prison floor, not without some trepidation, and set off. For a while, they wandered the prison's corridors without happening upon anything of note. At most routes, they were met with empty chambers and dead ends. As they were about to give up on their venture and return to the upper floors, Cloud stopped, holding up a clenched fist, a silent sign to stop moving. Quietly, he gestured for the group to huddle up against the wall to their left.

"What is it?" Reeve whispered. "Why are we stopping?"

"I heard footsteps," Cloud said, peeking around the corner.

"Another one of your flashbacks?" Cid asked derisively.

"No, I hear them too," Vincent said.

The others strained their ears to hear anything. It was faint at first, but soon they could all hear the unmistakable sound of footsteps coming down the corridor, getting closer to their position. Collectively, they held their breath as two figures walked past, dragging a third between them. The central figure's body was limp, unmoving, being dragged carelessly across the floor by the other two. A prisoner, by the looks of it.

"Who are they?" Barret asked. "Guards?"

"Looks like it," Vincent said.

"So... we're not alone out here," Tifa said.

"Keep your voices down," Cloud reminded them.

When they were certain that they were alone again, they finally eased up, and continued their search. They headed after the three figures they had seen, taking caution not to be seen or heard.

"So someone's still running this place," Cid said. "I thought you said the war ended already," he added, addressing Nanaki.

"It didn't end, exactly," Nanaki said. "Rather, it just stopped. No-one knows why, at least not on the Cetra side."

"The Jenova spawn still haunt the place," Vincent said. "but there seems to be nothing guiding them. They're just mindless monstrosities."

"So I thought.." Nanaki said.

"But?" Yuffie asked.

"Well... I get the feeling we're about to find out if I was right or not," Nanaki said.

"Looks like they headed through here," Tifa said, pointing out an alley they had passed through before. What was once a dead-end was now open, the heavy door momentarily brought up.

"Inner chambers," Nanaki read from the sign above the doorway, confirming her suspicion.

As they walked inside, they were immediately struck by the difference between the inner and outer prison facilities. The outside had been run down over decades or even centuries of neglect. The inner facility, by contrast, had every indication of being recently built. It remained a bleak and grimy place, but unlike the outside areas, it was clearly still seeing regular use.

Throughout the prison, they could hear low moans emanating from somewhere, and the shuffling of feet in the distance, growing more and more faint ahead of them.

"Still no sign of the guards," said Yuffie.

"Looks like we've found the inmates, though," Reeve remarked, as they came upon the new prison cells.

Peering inside one of the cells, they could see a Cetra prisoner, held upside down by restraints at the far wall. The prisoner looked battered and malnourished, and it was clear that he had suffered a long time of abuse. As far as they could tell, he was unaware of their presence.

"Gods.." Tifa said.

"Can he see us?" Yuffie asked.

"One-way glass," Vincent said, lightly tapping the thick glass plate embedded in the door.

They continued on through the prison's corridors. Everywhere, the cells and doors retained a uniform design; a small, poorly lit room containing a single prisoner, and each cell door composed of thick, solid steel frames, in which were set equally thick plates of glass for the viewing of the prison's inmates. The prisoners themselves were all constrained in a variety of different positions, intended to cause discomfort and keep them from moving.

"Why are they upside down?" Yuffie asked.

"Because it's painful," Nanaki said.

"Yeah... but, why?" Yuffie asked. "What do they get out of this?"

"Why don't we ask 'them' when we see them?" Vincent replied.

"This ain't no prison," Barret said. "Goddamn torture den is what it is."

"And these doors are thick as hell.." Cid commented. "No way we're going to cut through these here."

Cloud nodded. "We'd better head for the control center," he said. "We're not going to make any progress here."

They turned another corner, circling back to where they came in. "Everyone keep an eye out for guards," Cloud told the others, one hand on the hilt of his sword. "And keep your step light. We're not going to last long in a fight if we get cornered in here."

"How long have these prisoners been here, I wonder?" Vincent said.

"Too long," Cloud replied.

* * *

Back in the elevator, the group continued its descent. According to the tower's layout, the control room lay a few floors below the prison. The wait for the elevator platform to move was becoming unbearable, the tension rising among all of them as the minutes passed.

"This place brings back memories, does it not?" Vincent asked, looking over at Cloud, who was standing at the far edge of the platform.

"What makes you say that?" Cloud asked indifferently.

"Confinement. Specifically, yours and mine. Don't tell me you do not remember?" Vincent said.

"It's not worth remembering," Cloud said, eyes kept straight ahead.

"It's strange how one loses track of time in a cell.." Vincent continued. "When I was imprisoned, I tried everything I could to keep myself aware of the passage of time. Carving dates into the wall with whatever implements I could find, counting in my head. It was to no avail. And there would always be someone to change the count. Sometimes I would find a few days added, the next subtracted. They planned to keep me in a purgatory, indefinitely. To deny me the idea of an external reality."

"Why are you telling me this?" Cloud asked.

"What I'm saying is that these prisoners may not be in the best state of mind," Vincent told him. "It may even be that they no longer possess any notion of time or self, no rational mental faculties.."

"I'm aware of that," Cloud said.

"Do you think we can save them?" Vincent asked.

Cloud thought back to his own time of confinement by Shinra, something he normally avoided if he could. After the incident at Nibelheim, he and Zack had been captured, tortured and experimented on for five years. To the outside world, they had been reported as killed in action, blacklisted, erased from history, for all intents and purposes.

For the first few days after he and Zack had escaped, his mind had been so addled from the long years of confinement, from the drugs, from the mako poisoning, that he could not even raise a hand to protect his friend as they made their last stand, and was left to watch him die, face down in the mud.

But he had recovered, given time. At first, his damaged mind had merged their identities, unable to process all the information it was receiving. But the inconsistency of the conflicting memories kept eating away at his state of mind, until finally he was forced to see the truth, and thus he had emerged from Limbo, whole again, if not unharmed.

"I don't know," Cloud replied. "But we have to try."

"Ever the noble hero." Vincent remarked.

"And you're just along for the ride?" Cloud asked.

"Touché," Vincent replied. "In any case, it is far too late to walk away from this. You're right about that much. So we'll see it through to the end."

"We're here," Nanaki said, drawing their attention.

The group stepped off the elevator platform again. Right away they noticed that the control room floor seemed larger than the others, its roof reaching higher, and its structure in general more imposing than that of the rest of the tower. There were a number of corridors leading off in different directions, but far fewer than the rest of the fortress's maze-like construction. Towards the center of the floor lay a circular chamber, sealed by a heavy door.

"Let's see if we can get that thing open," Reeve said.

"I got that covered," said Cid, brandishing his spear.

The captain wedged it into the door jamb, pressing with all his might, but it wouldn't budge. "The hell are these things made of..?" he cursed under his breath.

"How about this?" Yuffie said, pressing a nearby touch panel. As her hand ran over the panel's volumetric display, a loud clicking noise came from the nearby wall, as though a series of complex locks were being undone. Then the door slid open.

"Easy," Yuffie said, beaming.

"Hmph.." Cid grumbled, retracting his spear.

"Wait..." Tifa said. "They just left it open?"

"It's like someone wants us to get in," Reeve said. "Anyone else starting to feel worried?"

"Let's just see what we can find in here," Nanaki said. "If it's the control room, we should be able to do some damage from here, right?"

The eight of them stepped inside the room. As expected, the walls were lined with computers and telemetric instruments of every kind, extending all the way around the chamber. The ring was was split up into different sections, each one cordoned off from the others by heavy security doors, similar to the ones they had just stepped through, leaving them in a small section of the whole of the interior.

But there was something else that caught their attention. The whole chamber seemed to be built to accommodate its circular shape, as though it had been built around some other, central structure. The far wall, they noticed, was actually a shutter, designed to cut off view from the center proper.

"All right," Cid said. "One guess as to which one of these operates the cell doors."

"If any," Vincent pointed out.

"Well, take your pick," Reeve said. "Just don't start pressing buttons at random."

"Hey, over here," Tifa waved the others over to the far end of the room.

"Looks like the shutter's controls," Nanaki said. "Shall we take a look?"

"Couldn't hurt," Barret said.

Tifa hit the switch, and the shutter retracted downwards, revealing the central chamber.

What followed would be an image forever burned into their minds.

The inside of the tower was a vast, cylindrical chamber, criss-crossed by walkways extending between the different floors. Its walls were rusted gray and red, though from the passage of time, or by other means, they could not tell. What lay at the bottom, however, was what drew their attention..

"What the hell _is_ that thing?" Yuffie asked.

"Whatever it is, it's huge.." Reeve said.

At the very bottom of the chamber there rested what appeared to be a giant mass of organic growth, slowly undulating, occasionally displaying rapid, violent movements seemingly at random. At its center, the peaks and troughs of flesh and bone ended in a jagged, cruel maw, extending and swelling as though in anticipation.

Its texture was similar to that of the Jenova creatures they had encountered before, but far more enormous than anything they could have imagined. The monstrosity below them and the chamber containing it were easily the size of a coliseum, and the whole of the structure crafted with the intent of housing or containing it.

Before any of them could speak, they heard a sound coming from above, like that of an elevator moving. They noticed that some sort of steel container was sliding along one of the beams suspended above the odious creature. The container came to a halt in the dead center of the chamber. The Avalanchers watched, listened, unable to interfere. They could all hear faint noises coming from the container, as if someone were banging away at it frantically from the inside.

Nanaki looked over at the display closest to them. The pit of his stomach sank as he read the words displayed thereupon: "Feeding time."

And then, it happened.

The bottom of the container fell open, and men, women and children alike poured into the maw, their naked bodies suspended in the air for the briefest of moments, before coming crashing down into the jaws of the abomination below. As the prisoners came into contact with its pestilent flesh, the awful creature reacted, culling and masticating them with a sickening enthusiasm.

They turned away from the hellish vision, mortified. Tifa covered her face, tears welling in her eyes. Yuffie fell to her knees, disgorging the contents of her stomach, devastated by what she had just seen. Cid and Barret, too, turned away, cursing under their breath. Vincent, Nanaki and Reeve all averted their sight. Cloud swallowed hard, the only one who did not look away. He closed his eyes, and shook his head. They had been too late..

Their moment of grief was interrupted by the sound of a nearby door coming open. An imposing figure strode into the room, where it paused, scrutinizing the unfamiliar group of people.

"Who are you?" the figure demanded. Its voice sounded strained, as though distorted by some injury to its larynx, a rotting away of its vocal cords by the pitiless passage of time.

The whole impression of the figure standing before them was that of a dead man still walking among the living. The skin of his face, visible behind the thick bevor of his armor, appeared to be in advanced stages of decomposition, and the whole of his body bore the unmistakable pallor of the deceased. He did not seem particularly surprised to see them, or even upset, so much as curious. The tone of his voice clearly imparted that they posed no threat to him.

The Avalanchers, taken by surprise, did not answer. For a moment, they were paralyzed, undone by the atrocity they had just witnessed, and the appearance of the one who now stood before them. His cruel features and imposing demeanor told them all they needed to know.

They did not need to wonder. They knew who he was.

The Torturer. The Butcher.

_Comus_.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Sorry to keep you guys waiting. It's been pretty hectic on this end, and writing just hasn't been a priority lately. I've been piecing chapters together slowly when I've had the time and inclination, but hopefully I can get the next one done sooner. Anyway, see you all next time.


	20. Like Fire

_I am eternal  
__The ruler of the earth and sky  
__I am infernal  
__I am on a quest to see the heavens die  
__My fascination with the dead  
__Won't be fulfilled here on this killing spree  
__I am the horizon  
__I am the serpent of the dead  
__My gaze will burn your skin and flesh into a crisp  
__Like fire_

**Through the Ashes of Empires  
****Chapter 20  
****Like Fire**

* * *

The two locked eyes, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

Cloud struck first. With a quickness of movement that exceeded even his normal alacrity, he rushed forward, blade drawn, swinging in a wide arc. He knew it was a risky move, an all-or-nothing assault that would either leave him open to a counter-attack, or end the fight before it started.

To his surprise, Comus offered no resistance. The imposing figure simply stood there, unmoving, as though inviting the attack. The blade cut through his flesh, striking against the side of his face full-force, slicing the top of his head nearly in half.

A moment passed, with neither man moving. Comus remained standing, blood pooling from the gaping wound he had received. Cloud stood slightly behind him, holding his combat stance, ready to defend himself against whatever counter-attack was coming.

No retaliation ever came. The taller man wavered for a moment, then collapsed into a dead heap.

Cloud let out a terse breath that he had been holding, slowly relaxing his stance. _"That's it?"_ he thought. _"That's the grand general? The terror of the Cetra? It can't be.."_

Sheathing his sword, he turned back to his allies, who had by now all drawn their weapons and were ready for combat. They looked just as surprised as he was at how easily he had slain their nemesis.

"_Something's not right here.."_ Cloud thought as he walked away from Comus's body.

The looks on his friends' faces confirmed his suspicion, slowly changing from guarded relief to utter astonishment and revulsion.

"...What the fucking fuck!?" Cid exclaimed, his cigarette dropping from his mouth.

Instinctively, Cloud brought his sword up again, taking a defensive posture. He spun around to see Comus back on his feet, the would-be-fatal wound in his head slowly sealing itself.

"What were you trying to accomplish?" Comus asked. The tone of his voice betrayed only a mild irritation, as though being killed were to him nothing more than a banality.

Without hesitation, Cloud charged toward his enemy again. This time, Comus dodged the attack, moving with impossible swiftness. Cloud turned around, swinging at Comus again with a one-handed stroke. Comus blocked the attack effortlessly, catching Cloud's right hand, then his left, in a vice-like grip. The two of them wrestled for a moment, with Comus bringing down unbelievable pressure on his foe.

Cloud looked into the eyes of his nemesis. In them, he could see no humanity or remorse. All he could see was a profound nothingness, to which no plea or entreaty could be made. Not even cold, detached hate. There was nothing in Comus's empty eyes but death.

Just as he was about to extricate himself from Comus's grip, the general made his move, giving the swordsman a forceful kick in the midsection, removing the sword from his hand and sending him sliding across the floor.

Cloud struggled for breath. Doing his best to ignore the acute pain in his chest, he forced himself to his feet again, coughing up blood as he rose. His sword lay at Comus's feet. He would have to close in again to retrieve it, which he knew was just what his opponent wanted. He wiped the blood from his mouth as he regained his bearings. It had been a long time since anyone had given him such a hard fight, but he was not about to let that deter him.

Unarmed, Cloud lunged back at Comus, roaring, attacking with nothing held back. He threw a flurry of punches, each one a certain killing blow for a lesser enemy. It was like hitting a steel wall. Comus remained unfazed by his vicious assault, striking back with extraordinary speed and strength, a whirlwind of attacks and counter-blows. Cloud stood his ground, even though he suspected that he was fighting a losing battle. His opponent simply absorbed his blows, then struck back with twice the force and speed thrown at him, showing no signs of pain or fatigue.

As the two dueled, exchanging blow for blow, Cloud attempted to retrieve his sword. Comus used the opportunity to gain the upper hand, catching the back of Cloud's wrist, forcing him into a standing arm lock. He gave Cloud two brutal blows to the face, followed by a knee to the chest, before smashing his face against the cold steel wall.

Cloud fell to the ground again, head reeling from the concussion. His entire body ached, and he could have sworn that he had felt something cracking. He struggled to move away from his attacker, but it was no use. Comus moved in, preparing to deliver a finishing blow, when he was suddenly interrupted by the sound of gunfire.

The other Avalanchers, holding back for fear of accidentally harming their leader, had finally joined the fight. Barret, Reeve and Vincent opened fire, distracting their nemesis, while Yuffie, Tifa, Nanaki and Cid moved in, weapons drawn.

Leaving Cloud where he lay, Comus started towards them, dauntless, implacable as the march of time. The three gunmen ceased their attack in order to reload and give the others an opportunity to move in. Comus casually deflected all of their attacks, batting Nanaki away as he leapt up at him, fangs bared. He dodged Cid's charge before retaliating with a backhanded blow that sent the captain reeling, then caught Yuffie's combat shuriken as she swung at him, using it as leverage, slamming her body against Tifa's as she rushed in to attack him from the other side. He did not appear to be in the least fazed by any assault. If anything, he seemed bored by their attacks.

As though deciding that he had toyed with them long enough, the warlord at last drew his own weapon, a long, thin, ebony blade, dark as the midnight sea. Moving with a swiftness that defied belief, Comus closed in on the three gunmen, slicing Vincent's rifle in half, lacerating Barret's gun-arm and very nearly taking Reeve's hand off in a single counterattack.

His head still spinning, Cloud gripped his sword again, forcing himself to his feet. He surveyed the frantic battle. Unassisted and outnumbered, Comus was besting them. They were fighting a losing battle, eight against one.

Despite their seemingly hopeless position, he joined the fight once more.

The battle proceeded, with the Avalanchers struggling to keep up with the ancient warlord. Though Comus did not seem in the least intimidated nor afflicted by their attacks, he at least seemed at a loss as to which one of his attackers to focus on. Ganging up on him made it difficult for him to pick out a specific target, which worked to their advantage.

Reeve and Barret had receded for the moment, allowing the party's melee fighters room to attack, while sneaking in shots where they could. Vincent, deprived of his firearm, made the best utility that he could of his claw, attempting to get in a hit, though his efforts were as futile as that of his comrades.

Cloud struck at Comus in tandem with the others, though his attacks, too, remained rebuked by the ancient warlord. Cid lunged at Comus with his spear, while Nanaki tried to catch and hold his arm, in order to leave him vulnerable to attack.

Their adversary would have none of it. Comus responded by swinging his blade in a wide arc, forcing them to back off. Tifa barely dodged in time to avoid his counterattack, canceling her own incursion in the process.

Moving in again, Yuffie made a risky attack, exposing herself as she leapt up, intending to drive the point of her combat shuriken straight into Comus's forehead. Comus, anticipating her attack, swung his sword upwards. Cloud, seeing what was about to happen, dove in, absorbing the attack meant for the young ninja. The devastating blow sent him rolling across the floor once again. This time, he could definitely feel something breaking.

He tried to press himself up to one arm. It felt like a thousand knives stabbing into his upper body. The swordsman fell to the ground again, clutching his broken arm, teeth gritted from the intense pain.

The rest of the team did its best to stave off the enemy, but he dominated the battle, pressing them back slowly but surely. Comus gave no quarter, and showed no sign of faltering.

Cloud tried raising himself again, this time on his left arm. It hurt like hell, but he found that he could still move it, unlike his right. Back on his feet, he picked up his blade again, though he was in no shape to wield it. There was nothing for it, he decided. They would only lose this battle. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, he gave the order he had hoped he would never have to.

"Retreat!" he shouted.

The other Avalanchers did not require much convincing. It was obvious that they had met their match in Comus, and that their attacks were nothing more than a nuisance to him. Abandoning their attack, they retreated through separate exits, back out into the corridor. Comus made no effort to detain them.

Satisfied that his friends had retreated to relative safety, Cloud followed them out into the corridor, encumbered by his wounds.

As Avalanche abandoned the observation room, several guards entered from where Comus had emerged.

"Orders?" one of them asked.

"Bring them to the lab," Comus replied. "Alive, if you can. Dead, if you must."

* * *

The tower's warning system blared, and soldiers began to pour out from every room and guard station. The whole fortress, lifeless mere moments ago, was awake and out for blood.

The Avalanchers dodged around a corner, narrowly avoiding being spotted by one of the guard patrols. Tifa looked the group over, to make sure that everyone was accounted for.

"What the hell _was_ that?" Cid asked, still catching his breath. "_That's_ Comus?"

"That was him," Cloud said, stumbling around the corner. "No doubt about it."

The blond youth dragged his sword along the ground, his right arm dangling uselessly from his side. His friends rushed to his side as he faltered, battered and exhausted. Though they had all sustained cuts and bruises during the fight, Avalanche's leader had clearly taken the worst of it. He leaned against the wall, catching his breath, eyes closed. Barret caught Cloud's sword as he released his grip on it. It was heavier than he expected, causing the big man to lose his balance slightly as he grabbed it.

"You're bleeding.." Yuffie said, noting the blood trickling down Cloud's forehead.

The swordsman coughed, clutching his chest with his good arm. He appeared to be losing a fair amount of blood from wounds sustained there, as well.

"Not just bleeding," Vincent pointed out. Cloud grimaced as the gunman grasped his right arm. "Your arm... It's broken."

Cloud opened his eyes again, but said nothing. The look on his face indicated a less than lucid state of mind.

"Do you feel any pain?" Vincent asked, letting go of Cloud's arm.

Strangely enough, Cloud didn't feel much of anything, besides numbness. He shook his head. "Just... tired," he managed, looking as though he might black out at any moment.

"Well, you should be," Vincent replied, looking over at the rest of the group. "That's not a good sign."

"Let's hope it's just a concussion," Nanaki said.

"Does anyone have any materia?" Yuffie asked, a worried look on her face.

"They don't work here, remember?" Reeve pointed out, even as Tifa handed her one of their healing materia.

"We've got to try," Yuffie replied. "Here. Stay with us, okay?" she said, taking Cloud's good arm as she focused on the materia, willing it to absorb whatever energy it could from the Astra homeworld, channeling it into a healing balm. Despite her best effort, there was little noticeable effect.

"Gods damn this dead planet," she cursed, smashing the small orb against the wall in frustration.

"Easy!" Cid cautioned her. "We don't have many of those."

"We might as well be playing with marbles," Yuffie replied. "We've got to do something! He's.."

"I'm all right," Cloud assured her. "Just need to catch my breath."

"You feel any better?" Vincent asked.

"A little," Cloud replied.

"We need to get you to an infirmary," Tifa said. "Your arm needs treatment."

"The guards are coming," Cloud replied, shaking his head. "If we stay here, we're as good as dead. We need to get out of here."

"How?" Reeve asked. "The whole place is in lockdown."

"Not yet," Cloud said. "We have to get outside first, before they lock down the exits. We can worry about getting down later."

The group continued down one of the corridors, looking for a way out. At one of the nearby junctions, a large door leading outside was gradually coming to a close. The eight of them filtered out through the exit before it finished closing behind them, and found themselves standing on a bridge, suspended high in the air.

To each side of them were a number of twisting paths, some leading further up the tower, some leading down, and some leading nowhere. The bridge that they were standing on seemed to coil downwards, linking up with several other bridges and paths below. The whole maze of roads and bridges seemed perilously brittle, having had no maintenance for centuries or more. Furthermore, the roads were littered with the same rubble and vehicular carcasses which they had seen all over the city, the remnants of the war that had originally annihilated this world.

And their route was blocked. As they moved cautiously along the bridge, their escape was cut short by not one, but two Jenova creatures slithering up towards them. The two abominations slowly approached them, feelers and tentacles raised in the air, their faces seeming to betray a twisted pleasure at the chance to wreak violence upon their prey.

As they turned to head back towards the entrance to search for an alternate route, they found the door slowly opening again, this time with a cadre of soldiers behind it, ready to gun them down once they were through.

Their prospects seemed dire. Death by incubi or death by firing squad.

"Okay... what now?" Reeve asked.

Cloud, still recovering from his wounds, spoke up. "Cid... you got any explosives?" he asked.

Cid reached inside of his jacket, handing him a cluster of TNT.

"And a light," Cloud said.

"What are you..?" Cid asked, handing Cloud his prized lighter.

"Be ready," Cloud said, lighting the long fuse. The rest of the group watched him as he staggered off towards the two Jenovas, live explosive in hand. The twin chimeras towered over him, gleefully beckoning him into death's violent embrace.

But he did not plan to die that day.


	21. Ruin

_Silence speeds the path  
__to the streams of solace  
__that run so few and narrow  
__brooks that babble the sounds of torture  
__you will one day rise  
__to flood the banks of the chosen_

_this is the art of ruin  
__this is the resolution  
__the end of all progress  
__the death of evolution  
__it bleeds all life away_

**Through the Ashes of Empires  
****Chapter 21  
****Ruin**

* * *

The rest of Avalanche watched as Cloud marched towards the monstrosities in the distance. He walked towards them with a measured pace and disposition that was eerily calm. He was clearly determined not to let the imposing nature of his enemies deter him. As he moved in closer, he brought up the bomb in his hand, its fuse slowly burning away to nothing.

Yuffie watched with trepidation in her heart. Did he truly plan on making the ultimate sacrifice? She couldn't much bear the thought of seeing that happen, but their situation was dire as never before, and she knew that he might well have it in him. She thought to try and stop him, but he was almost at the other end of the bridge, and she knew that there would be no talking him out of whatever it was that he was planning to do.

The chimeras before him began to attack, lashing out with their long feelers. Their initial attacks were broad and easily avoided, as though they were letting off warning shots. Cloud moved slightly to dodge their swings, without breaking stride. An arm swung just past his shoulder, crushing one of the vehicle carcasses next to him. Another smashed into the bridge's brittle concrete, nearly breaking through the malformed roadway, destabilizing the weakened structure.

The next round of attacks was not so inaccurate. He was nearly standing next to the two monsters now, and they were bringing all of their extremities to bear. He still succeeded in avoiding most of their attacks, but a few of them managed to graze him, tearing flesh from his arm and nearly causing him to drop the bomb in his hand.

The fuse was very nearly gone now, and he was standing right between the two nightmarish figures.

"Not yet," he said. "Not just yet."

He stopped briefly, then took off again, breaking into a run, moving between the two Jenovas. Rolling to avoid their attacks, he dropped the bomb onto the ground next to them, before moving to a safe distance. He vaulted over one of the broken vehicles resting on the bridge, taking cover on the opposite side as the bomb went off. The bomb blasted a small hole into the bridge, sending shrapnel flying from the point of contact.

The two walking terrors were largely unmoved by the explosion. But the bridge beneath them was another matter. The weakened concrete slowly began to tear and give way, unfolding underneath them. Cloud emerged from his cover to observe the result of his ruse. The other Avalanchers watched from the opposite side of the bridge. If those creatures could express surprise or horror, that would have been the look on their faces as the road underneath them simply fell away, sending them plummeting to the ground below. The two abominations thrashed ineffectually as they fell through the empty air, screeching and flailing, with nothing to slow their fall, save the ground that inevitably awaited them.

The Avalanchers on the far side of the bridge looked over at Cloud, relieved. He had managed to solve their problem, and without the need to throw his life away. But there was another problem emerging. As Cloud tried to make his way back to his friends, the rest of the bridge began to buckle and shift. On both sides, the structure, unable to bear the strain, started to give way, first leaning precipitously, and then breaking off altogether, sending the Avalanche crew tumbling down below.

They landed on another, shorter bridge stub just below them, narrowly escaping the fate of the Jenova monsters, the shattering bridge raining concrete and ash all around them as it crumbled. Dusting himself off, Cloud got up and hurriedly reunited with rest of the group, taking his blade into his good hand as he did.

Above, the heavy security doors had finally come open, letting Comus's soldiers through. They brandished their guns, only to discover that their prey had involuntarily descended a couple of floors in the interim. The soldiers, briefly puzzled by this turn of events, decided to pursue them by any means available. A few of them took aim at the Avalanchers down below, while the rest began to descend the fortress walls using steel cables and whatever hand-holds were available.

Their attempts to halt Avalanche's escape were in vain, however, as the lower bridge stub, too, began to come loose. The whole outside structure of the fortress was hollowed out and deteriorated from years, perhaps even centuries of neglect, and its defects were becoming all too readily apparent, as the second bridge stub snapped off, falling horizontally through the air, collapsing onto a third one.

They weren't out of the fire yet. The bridge they were standing on now was more intact than the other two, and it seemed to actually connect to another section of the fortress on the far side. The Avalanchers regained their balance just in time to see the doors at their new floor open, letting out a group of needlers and Jenovas. Behind them, more soldiers were massing, pouring out from an ancillary entrance. Once again, they were boxed in.

Cloud looked over the side of the bridge, spotting a further network of suspended roads not far below their current position. Perhaps they could use the bridge system to escape. Doing so would be a gamble at best, but their other choice was to fight through every last enemy in sight, and they were severely outnumbered, not to mention worn out from their confrontation with Comus.

"Over here," he called to the others, pointing out a bridge that had broken off from one of its supports, leaning diagonally downwards, providing them with a slope of sorts. One by one, the Avalanchers leapt down onto the lower bridge, sliding down to another hanging road, yet further down. As Cloud and Cid follow the rest of the group, the slope suddenly broke off in two, causing them to fall over to a different bridge than the rest of the group.

"You guys okay?" Tifa called.

"Still in one piece," Cid replied. "What about you?"

"We're okay," Tifa replied. "Just need to find a way down to y-"

She was interrupted by gunfire. They had put some distance between themselves and the hybrid army pursuing them, but they were still being hounded. Comus's forces were relentless, and showed no sign of letting up, regardless of the danger. It seemed as though his soldiers did not much care for their own lives.

"Just get out of there," Cloud told them. "We can meet up later."

"Right," Tifa replied, motioning for the rest of her group to follow her.

"Well, any bright ideas?" Cid asked him.

"We're not too far from the ground," Cloud said, examining their surroundings. "If we can get down a few more levels, we can make a break for the city."

"Let's do it," Cid replied. "Which wa-"

As they looked for a way off the bridge, another two Jenovas dropped down to their level, blocking them on either side.

"Oh, fuck me," Cid said. "Don't these things ever give up?"

"Doesn't look like it," Cloud said, entering his combat stance. Cid did the same. One monster apiece, they figured.

Above them, Tifa led her group along the suspended road they had landed on. Comus's forces had not yet reached them, leaving them with a clear path, winding down to the ground below. A few moments more, and they would be in the clear.

Cloud and Cid, on the other hand, were still caught between the two advancing monsters. Cid lunged at the one closest to him, batting its feelers away with his spear, before thrusting it deep into its body. Though his spear had pierced it to its core, the Jenova monster showed no sign of feeling any pain.

"Shit.." Cid said, as the monster prepared to retaliate.

The Jenova creature lashed out, wrapping one of its arms around Cid, then lifted him up before throwing him off the bridge.

"Cid!" Cloud called. The swordsman rushed over to the bridge's side to see what had happened to his friend. Fortunately, he had landed safely on a lower road, though not unharmed. Although the captain was still alive, he was clearly out of the fight, leaving Cloud to face the two Jenovas by himself.

He watched as the abominations moved in, their oily, limbless bases undulating on the ground, slowly cutting off all routes of egress. The masks that were their faces never changed from that maddening, insane grin. Their breathing resembled strangled, pulsating laughter, intensifying as they closed in. Though he doubted that they had any real thoughts in their heads at all, beyong those of hunting and killing their prey, it felt as though they were taunting him, basking in the manifestation of their own superiority, the certainty that they would never be bested.

He had been scornful of them before, but now he was furious. They had imperiled him and his friends. They stood in his way of ever seeing his home world again, and he would be damned if he let them get away with the atrocities that they were in the process of committing. Running away was one thing, but now it was time to fight back.

"Come on, then," he said.

Cloud brought up his sword again, sizing up his enemies and the field of battle. He had expected his broken arm to hurt as he moved, but surprisingly he felt little pain or sensation in it. Perhaps Yuffie's attempt at healing it earlier had done the trick. In any case, he felt better, good enough to take on the fiends that stood between him and escape.

Down below, his friends had all gathered on the ground. Watching as Cloud and the Jenova creatures fought, they exhorted him to abandon the fight and come down. He wasn't too far from the ground, but still too high to jump, and there were no bridges that he could safely reach, not without going through his enemies first.

The two Jenovas were now close enough to strike at him from either side, forcing him towards the middle of the ever-shrinking space which he had left to manoeuvre in. Alternating his attention between one Jenova and the other, he did his best to dodge their attacks, slicing off limbs and feelers as they rushed past his head, side-stepping and rolling out of the way as they lunged forward, trying to make the most of every move, attacking and defending at the same time, if possible. He could hold his own when it came to defense, but that still left the question of how to truly fight back. The towering monsters seemed completely impervious to any attacks made against their bodies, and regenerated lost limbs and torn flesh at an incredible rate, rendering most attacks on them futile.

Cloud noticed that the road at one side of the bridge seemed weaker than the rest. Perhaps he could use gravity to his advantage again. He moved over to the weakened portion of the bridge, luring one of the creatures closer. As it neared him, it struck down with full force, tearing up the thin concrete, causing that section of the bridge to tremble. Moving out of the way just in time, Cloud dodged the monster's lashing attacks one last time, as the side of the bridge fell away, taking the Jenova creature with it. The creature plummeted to the ground, where its body smashed into the pavement, the oleaginous substance of its bulk disintegrating to nothing more than a pulpy mass as it collided with the hard concrete.

"_One down,"_ Cloud thought.

Down below, his friends cheered him on, though they also urged him to hurry up and get away. The other Jenova creature, however, still stood in his way. This one, a larger variety than he had seen before, seemed intent on simply pushing him off the bridge, closing in until he had no more room to stand. He only had a few meters more, and the Alpha Jenova was quickly closing the distance.

The monster struck, moving faster than its cumbrous body would seem able to permit. Its attacks were not as clumsy or as broad as those of the other Jenovas he had faced. Indeed, it was as though behind the monster something else were pulling the strings, endowing it with a greater dexterity and awareness than it could normally possess.

Sephiroth's spectre surfaced in Cloud's mind, as it had before he and his friends had set out on their journey. Its words echoed in his mind. _"You're going to die out there. You and all your friends.."_

The abomination lashed out, its heavy feeler grazing Cloud's arm, knocking him off balance. As the blow hit, he suddenly felt as though he were somewhere else. A place that was cold, dark and suffocating. Back in the Mako tank in Hojo's lab, or an operating table somewhere. A place he knew all too well. The mirage lasted only for a second, before giving way to reality once more, but it caught him off guard, even more than the attack itself. And his enemy intended to take full advantage of his disorientation.

"_You think you can change things,"_ he heard a voice in his head saying. _"Don't be naïve."_

The Jenova struck again. Cloud dodged or cut away its limbs as it did, but there were too many for him to avoid all of them. Each attack cut deeply, and the wounds burned and scalded like fire. And with each cut, each blow that connected, there was a flash of that nightmare again, the one he had lived so long ago. Each one reminding him of every weakness, every failing, every moment of despair.

Behind the monster towering over him, he could see the spectre of his fallen nemesis, guiding its movements. The apparition watched him with a disdainful smile, speaking to him in his mind. _"Think," _it said._ "What is the fate of all those you promised to protect? All those you claimed to care about?"_

The monster swept across the narrow strip that remained between it and the young swordsman, knocking him off his feet. _"Your mother? Dead."_

The spectre instructed the Jenova to swing its arms up, bringing them down for the final blow. Cloud rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being smashed into the concrete. _"Your best friend, Zack? Dead."_

The next blow threw him against one of the pillars holding up the remainder of the bridge, knocking the wind out of him. He fell to his knees, coughing up blood. _"Aerith? The woman who woke you from your solipsism, showed you that the world is worth protecting? Worth caring about? _Dead_," _the spectre said, with relish in its voice. _"So are the rest of your friends. You can't save them. You will fail here. You will fall and you will perish. And the world will keep turning, not knowing, or caring."_

"_The experiments will continue," _the voice said, as its avatar continued to ravage the battleground in an attempt to finish the swordsman off. _"The feeding will continue," _it said. _"And your vain, pathetic struggle will have meant _nothing_."_

"No," Cloud said, struggling to get back to his feet. He drew his sword back into his hand, striking back defiantly, despite his battered condition.

"_You can't do anything to change this,"_ the spectre said. _"And you were foolish to even try."_

"Go to hell," Cloud said. "I'll take you there myself."

If he was going to die here, on this god-forsaken world, he was going to take that abomination with him, he decided. Breaking into a run, he cut a swath through the monster's defenses, moving past it and towards one of the few remaining pillars holding the bridge up. Using the blunt side of his sword, he smashed into the concrete support, hacking away at it until it was sufficiently weakened. The creature, realising what he was up to, hurried over to stop him.

Without pausing for breath, Cloud dashed over to the opposite side of the bridge, damaging the support there in the same manner. The structure above them buckled and trembled, but did not give way. Before he could do more damage to the pillar, the Jenova monster moved in, forcing him into a corner. As he tried to defend himself against its advance, the monster batted the sword from his hand, sending it falling to the ground. A second blow knocked him down against one of the broken cars, leaving him defenseless and winded.

The monstrosity moved in, its feelers twitching in anticipation of the final kill. Cloud leaned against the broken vehicle, looking up towards the sky, too exhausted to move.

"_Maybe this is it.."_ he thought.

As the monster neared him, he heard a terrible noise above, as the bridge's supports gave way. The soldiers pursuing him and his friends, as well as the abomination that had been hounding him, were all taken by surprise as the whole of the bridge structure finally and fatally tore itself apart. The bridges directly above Cloud and his foe came down first, collapsing on top of the Alpha Jenova, killing it instantly. The shock of the sudden weight sent their own bridge tumbling to the ground, with yet more coming down on top of it.

The rest of Avalanche watched in horror as their leader, not to mention a good portion of Comus's army, was buried under a mountain of rubble, as the fortress's old transit system collapsed on top of them.

The dust and ashes gradually settled, revealing what remained of the old bridge system. A giant mound of concrete and steel, littered here and there with the broken bodies of the soldiers and monsters that had been after them. There was no discernible movement anywhere within the wreckage.

Cid shook his head. The others made similar gestures of respect. Tifa did her best to hold back tears for her childhood friend, while Yuffie watched, caught between hope and despair, to see if Cloud had escaped the fate of his pursuers.

Vincent eyed the entrance to the fortress. There was no sign of the enemy yet, but more soldiers would undoubtedly be on their way, as well as things far worse than ordinary men.

"Come on," he said to the others. "We have to go."

"We can't just leave.." Yuffie began to protest, but Cid cut her off.

"Ain't no chance in hell anything survived that," Cid said. "Gods damn this place.."

The Avalanchers started to leave, heading back for the ruined city. The young ninja reluctantly joined them, still eyeing the wreckage, hoping to see any signs of movement. But there was nothing.

As she finally tore herself away from the scene, she heard a faint coughing, coming from somewhere behind them. The Avalanchers all halted, looking back over to the mound, where something appeared to be emerging from the wreckage. They rushed over, to find their leader forcing his way out of the rubble. He was bloodied and covered in dust, scrapes and injuries far worse than that. All in all, he looked like he had just crawled out of hell, but he was alive.

"Sorry I'm late..", Cloud managed, before going into a coughing fit, brought on by the ashes, still settling onto the ground.

Yuffie wrapped him in a tight embrace. "I thought you were dead," she whispered.

"Me too," Cloud said, returning the hug with his good arm. He could feel Yuffie's warm tears on his shoulder, her body suddenly racked with sobs. "Don't ever scare me like that again," she said, pounding her fist against his shoulder, causing the young swordsman to wince. Her blows were relatively soft, but after the beating he had taken, just about any physical touch hurt like hell.

"..sorry," he replied, hugging her more tightly. Her blows softened, until she was simply holding him again.

"Hey," he said, raising her cheek, looking directly into her eyes. Deep blue mingled with dark brown as he leaned in closer, kissing her firmly on the lips. Yuffie returned the kiss with equal passion, and the two held each other yet more closely, losing themselves for a moment in each others' arms, the rest of the world melting away. There was no more holding back. No more hesitation. No doubt, and no fears.

As they drew apart again, the two of them whispered something to each other, something the rest of their friends couldn't quite hear. Their relationship wasn't much of a secret anymore, but a few of them were still surprised by their sudden display of affection. Even so, it wasn't the time to worry about such petty things as propriety, given what they had just experienced.

Yuffie helped Cloud back to his feet, and together they climbed back down the mountain of rubble.

"Come on," Cloud said to the others. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

Back at the dune buggy, after making sure that they had not been followed, the Avalanchers prepared to make the journey back to the Cetra homeworld.

"All right," Cid said, taking the driver's seat. "Get in, and try not to bleed all over the seats."

"I don't think that will be a problem," Vincent said.

The rest of the party noted Cloud's wounds, which had looked quite serious back at the fortress, but which were now barely noticeable. A few moments ago he had been limping, but after a brief while, he had resumed his normal walking speed, the affliction completely gone, or so it seemed. In fact, barely any of the cuts and lacerations he had accumulated during the battle at the fortress could be seen. His arm, too, seemed to be moving just fine. The only signs that he had been in a fight at all were the places where his clothing had been torn or stained during their journey.

"...the hell?" Cid said. "I thought you broke your arm."

"I thought so too, but.." Cloud said, pausing. The swordsman shook his head, as if to cast away some lingering doubt. "It doesn't matter now," he said. "Let's just get out of here."

The rest of the group assented, and the buggy took off, heading back to the gate that had brought them to this world. During their return trip, no-one said anything. They were all too exhausted to make even idle conversation. Vincent, however, would eye the young swordsman from time to time, as though waiting or watching for something.

Cloud sat in the back seat, along with Yuffie, who was sleeping on his shoulder. At least, she appeared to be asleep. She was certainly tired enough to warrant it, but with the young ninja, it could be hard to tell if she was pretending or not. The rest of the Avalanchers had filled up the seats near the front of the vehicle, allowing the couple some privacy as they made their way back to the portal gate.

Cloud watched the dead city of the Astra roll by, wondering how many souls this ancient conflict had already consumed. How many more it would claim if they failed to stop Comus..

As he was about to nod off, Vincent spoke up.

"How long has it been?" the gunman asked.

"Since what?" Cloud asked.

"Since you got injected," Vincent said. "With the Jenova cells."

"About seven years," Cloud replied. "Why?"

"Nothing," Vincent replied. "Just wondering."

Cloud thought about pursuing the topic further, but sheer fatigue got the better of him. He allowed himself to drift off to sleep, wrapping his arm around Yuffie's shoulder as he did. The passing city blurred into mere shadows as his conscience faded away, leaving only the feeling of the warmth of her body against his.

* * *

"Okay, people. What the fuck?"

The others looked over at Cid, who was seated on one of the many burnt-out vehicular skeletons littering the town square. The buggy was parked nearby, and the portal was a short distance from where they stood. The group had decided to stop briefly and take a breather before going through the gate, in case anything went wrong on the way back.

Over near the fountain, Yuffie was tending to Cloud's wounds. He had told her that he was feeling all right, and that his wounds were already healed, but she'd insisted on performing a check-up anyway. He knew better than to argue with her.

Vincent and Tifa were similarly engaged, while Reeve, Nanaki and Barret tallied the group's equipment and made sure the buggy was still in one piece.

"What do you mean?" Reeve asked, in reply to the captain's question.

"I mean, what the fuck do we do now?" Cid asked.

Everyone looked at each other. No-one offered an answer. It was Tifa who finally broke the silence. "We fight back," she said.

"Yeah, well... in case you hadn't noticed, missy, we just got our asses handed to us by a thousand year-old ghost," Cid replied. "We threw everything we had at him, and he didn't even blink. Shit, you _killed_ him," he went on, pointing at Cloud. "and he only seemed mildly annoyed. How the hell are we supposed to stand up to something like that?"

"He's just one man," Cloud replied, standing up. "We have to take the fortress."

"Yeah?" Cid asked. "Us and what army?"

Cloud said nothing, but responded with a cocky smile, one that his friends had not seen in a long time. One that told them that he had an idea. The Avalanche leader picked up his sword, heading towards the portal gate. The others gathered their equipment and followed him into the maelstrom of its maw.

"I hate it when he does that," Cid said, as they entered the portal.


	22. A Line in the Sand

_with your feverish signs of force  
__you'll make them and yourself believe  
__that he still retains his full power  
__yet those who cling to this dominion  
__will partake in its fall_

**Through the Ashes of Empires  
**

**Chapter 22  
****A Line in the Sand**

* * *

The prisoner screamed as Malthus fixed the steel mask to his face. Malthus wished they wouldn't scream so much. It was terribly distracting to his work.

"Malthus," Comus said, entering the lab. "What of our visitors?"

The sound of the warlord's voice startled the scientist. "They... they've escaped, I'm afraid," he replied.

Comus walked through the laboratory, surveying the scientist's latest work. The lab contained everything from collections of chemical mixtures, surgical tools both crude and subtle, automated machinery for attaching breathing masks and other protective gear to live subjects, to operating tables and even a set of circular saws and other industrial equipment, affixed to even more elaborate machinery set in the room's walls and ceiling. There was a cage nearby, inside of which were contained more Cetra prisoners, soon to be converted into scouts, to be sent out into the wastes to search for working portal gates and other relics of interest.

As their prisoners' well-being was not a concern, Malthus usually did not bother to clean up after himself. The result was rows of begrimed gurneys and operating tables. The steel grating that made for the lab's floor was heavily matted with blood, both fresh and clotted. Strips of flesh, and in some cases whole remains of less co-operative prisoners, were strewn about the room. This, coupled with facility's low lighting, painted the whole laboratory a deep crimson hue.

Walking over to the prisoner on the operating table, Comus ran his hand across the crude life support mask grafted to his face, Malthus's latest handiwork. The prisoner froze up as the warlord approached him, ceasing all resistance upon seeing his tormentor's visage. The warlord watched him for a minute, dispassionately observing the helpless victim, contemplating his eventual fate.

"No matter," Comus finally said. "They will soon return. And when they do, it will be their end."

He spoke not with arrogance, but with conviction, an unfailing certainty. The outsiders who had invaded his domain presented to him little more than a distraction... and perhaps an opportunity.

With this proclamation, Comus exited the laboratory again, leaving Malthus to his work. The scientist returned to his experiments, sighing. There were a lot of prisoners to process today.

* * *

"Look," Cid said. "these people have been fighting this war for centuries, maybe more. What makes you think we're just going to roll in here like big goddamn heroes and save the day? I mean, look at this place, for fuck's sake. Look what happened to them. They fought, and they lost."

The Avalanchers had returned to the Crystal Palace, and were making their way back to the Cetra underground city through the tunnels running underneath the black river. Flanking them on either side were ancient statues and works of art, most broken or blemished by time or by warfare, a reminder of the glory of the old Cetra empire, as well as its ultimate downfall.

"This can work," Cloud said. "Comus and his army might have the upper hand right now, but they're vulnerable, too. They were also damaged by the war, and they've been forced to consolidate most of their remaining power within one compound. If we bring that down, there's no way they'll be able to recover."

"And what about Comus himself?" Reeve asked. "How do you propose we deal with him?"

"Bury him under the goddamn ruins, I say," Barret said. "Even with that magic regeneration shit of his, he's not gonna be able to do a damn thing."

"We cannot kill a ghost," Vincent said. "But we _can_ entomb it."

"So you agree with him?" Cid asked.

"Cloud's right. Our enemies are at the apex of their power," Vincent said. "but that power is fragile. We've seen evidence enough of that. I say it's worth a shot."

"Yeah, well, I say we get the hell out of dodge," Cid said. "Find a way back home, evacuate this place, and forget we ever saw it."

"And what if they follow us?" Tifa asked. "What if they open a gate to _our_ world?"

"So we blow the gate on our side once we're through," Cid replied. "End of story."

"Jenova got through to our world just fine," Yuffie pointed out. "No gates needed."

"And there's no telling what other worlds they will visit, in due time," Nanaki said. "Ours might have been the first, but it won't be the last."

"I'm telling you... We're gonna get ourselves killed on some damn fool's errand of a crusade here," Cid said.

"We can't run from this fight," Cloud said, halting for a moment. "We stop the infection here and now, or it'll continue to spread."

"If we're going to fight, we need ordnance and manpower," Cid said. "Where are we going to find those?"

"We can raid the facilities on the Astra homeworld," Cloud said. "There's plenty of equipment left over from the war for the taking. We just need to reclaim and restore it."

"And as for soldiers?" Reeve asked.

Before Cloud could reply, the group was met by Sigil, the appointed leader of the Cetra. The old man seemed neither pleased nor displeased to see them again. "You've returned," he said.

"Yeah, no thanks to _you_, asshole," Cid replied. "You could have warned us about what was on the other side of that gate."

"I warned you not to go," Sigil replied. "You were more eager to depart than you were inclined to listen, as I recall it."

"Well, we're back," Tifa said.

"So you are," Sigil replied. "And now that you've returned, what do you intend to do?"

"I need to address the people," Cloud said.

"For what purpose, may I ask?" Sigil asked, eyeing him and his companions warily as they headed towards the town square.

"We're going to war," Cloud replied.

* * *

"I cannot allow you to do this," Sigil protested.

The people had gathered at the town square once more, at the platform customarily used for public addresses and debates. They all waited for the Avalanchers to speak. There had been rumours that the outsiders had crossed the threshold with in the old palace, over to the to the Astra homeworld, and they were curious to see what they had to say about their findings.

"It's not up to you," Yuffie replied as she and the others marched on over to the speaker's platform.

"You do not know my people," Sigil said, attempting to bar their passage. "You do not... you _cannot_ understand what they have gone through."

"I understand just fine," Cloud said. He pushed the old man aside, walking up the steps to the platform.

He hesitated. All eyes were upon him now, and he knew that he had to choose his words carefully. He had never been much of a public speaker, and most times he went out of his way to keep from the spotlight. But now was not the time to withdraw from the world.

"Everyone," he said, addressing the crowd. "Thank you for coming."

He looked out over the sea of faces before him. They watched him with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity, eagerly awaiting the truth. They would have it, he decided.

"We've been to the other side. The homeworld. Yours, and ours," he continued. "The one that your leaders did their best to cover up and conceal. We've been there, and we've returned."

He paused for a moment, knowing that the next words would arouse fear in them. "The legends are true," he said. "Comus lives."

As he spoke the name, there was a clamour amidst the crowd. Clearly, few of them had forgotten the identity of their nemesis. Even as a myth, he lived on in their minds as the destroyer of the Cetra.

"We confronted him," Cloud said. "and we survived."

Sigil glared at him from the far side of the hall. Evidently, he did not like where this was going one bit.

"And I'm here to tell you that we plan to face him again," Cloud continued. "I believe we can defeat him. But we need your help."

He watched the people in the crowd, measuring their reactions. Some shied away from the idea of open conflict with the mythical defiler of the old empire. Others seemed intrigued by the possibility, even heartened by the notion. But most did not look as though they truly believed him.

"Together, we can end his reign," Cloud said. "I know you're afraid. And I know how much this war has cost you. But I can promise you that together we can win. We can have peace again. No more living underground in hiding."

Sigil watched the crowd, as well, growing dismayed as he noticed that more and more people seemed to be swayed by the young man's rhetoric.

Now came the critical moment, Cloud thought. He had the crowd engaged, but not yet fully convinced.

"But let's say I'm wrong," he said, walking over to the opposite side of the speaker's platform. "That I'm underestimating our enemy's strength. That we don't stand a chance. That I don't have anything to offer you, except the possibility of dying with dignity."

He looked over at Sigil, as he spoke the next words. "Your leader says I don't know the Cetra people, but he's wrong."

He brought out an old, frayed ribbon out from his pocket, the memento he still carried with him wherever he went.

"I knew a Cetra once," he said. "She wasn't a soldier or a warrior, but she was brave. She didn't let anything in the world drag her down, or stop her from doing what was right."

He placed the ribbon back inside his pocket, walking about the stage, looking directly into his listener's eyes as he spoke. "She died fighting for what was right, so that we, her friends, might live. She died with dignity. And we live on to carry on that fight. Even if it's hopeless."

He gestured towards the path leading back to the old palace. "The enemy is still out there. And it will not stop. It will not rest, until every last one of us has been destroyed. The time has come to fight back. It's now or never."

As he concluded his speech, he headed for the steps back down to the ground floor, turning back to add one last comment. "Those of you who wish to fight, find us outside the Highwind tomorrow at dawn. You can live on your knees, or die on your feet. The choice is yours," he finished.

His final words elicited enthusiastic cheering from the crowd. Some walked away, shaking their heads. Others huddled together, holding their children close. And most still seemed reluctant to go along with his idea. But some, perhaps enough, seemed ready to believe what he had told them.

"Applause.." Vincent said, as Cloud stepped down from the platform. "...the echo of a platitude."

"It's what they need to hear right now," Cloud replied. "What they need to believe."

"And do you honestly believe that we can pull this off?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah, I do," Cloud said.

"What makes you so sure?" Vincent asked.

"Because they're tired," Cloud said. "You can see it in their faces. They don't want to live like this anymore."

"Is that all?" Vincent asked.

"We made it out alive," Cloud said. "And we barely knew what we were getting into. As much as Comus pretends to be, he's not invulnerable. We can beat him."

"I hope you're right," Vincent said. "because we're sacrificing a lot of lives if you're wrong."

* * *

"Okay, so how are we actually going to do this?" Cid asked. "Big speeches are all well and good, but we need an actual plan here, people."

The Avalanchers were gathered inside the Highwind's briefing room, having withdrawn from the underground city. As before, all eyes were upon the group's leader, who was busy poring over what scant information they had of their future battlefield.

"Well, we're not going to take them head on. That much is obvious," Cloud said. "They'll crush us if we try to fight a war of attrition."

"So, what do you suggest?" Reeve asked.

"Guerilla tactics," Cloud said. "Interdiction. We turn our enemy's own strengths against him."

"How so?" Nanaki asked.

"We're vastly outnumbered, that's true," Cloud said. "But as a smaller force, we'll be more manoeuvrable. We need to take back territory gradually, starting with this world. Once we have a foothold, we can start working on hitting the Astra forces where they live."

"We don't exactly have a lot of soldiers," Tifa pointed out. And they won't have any military training to speak of, for that matter."

"I can train them," Cloud said. "And between the eight of us, we've got enough experience to put a fighting force together. We know everything from military manoeuvres to espionage. Cid, you were in the air force. Vincent and Reeve were in the Turks. Along with Yuffie, we've got the 'asymmetrical warfare' part covered."

"And what about the rest of us?" Nanaki asked. We don't all have that kind of experience."

"No, but we all have our specializations," Cloud said. "Barret's our munitions expert. Red, you can teach people to scout the terrain. We'll need reliable maps of the battlefield if we're going to win this fight. And Tifa can tutor them in hand-to-hand combat."

He leaned over the table, addressing his friends as one. "We've all got our roles to play in this war. Let's get to it."

The others all indicated their assent. They got up from their seats and began to focus on what they could do to contribute to the preparations for the coming battle.

"Cloud," Vincent said. "A moment of your time?"

"What's on your mind?" Cloud asked.

"It's better if we discuss it in the med bay," Vincent said. "The rest of you, too. Please come with me."

Vincent led the others to the Highwind's medical facility, a small room at the far end of the airship, which the Avalanchers had installed for the express purpose of patching themselves up after sustaining particularly bad injuries, something which occurred with surprising regularity.

Vincent ushered Cloud into one of the seats next to the examination table. "Take your gloves off, please."

Cloud did as he asked, setting his gloves aside on the table.

"Hold your hand out, please," Vincent said.

Cloud hesitated. Vincent was being unusually cryptic, he thought, but again did as he asked. As he placed his hand on the table, Vincent took hold of his upper arm, restraining it.

"Bear in mind that this is not normally something I would do," Vincent said, holding Cloud's arm in place. "I would like to take the opportunity to apologize in advance."

"Vincent, what are y-" Cloud started when, without warning, Vincent drove a large knife, which he had kept concealed behind his back, into his hand. The knife pierced his flesh, going right through his hand, as well as the table underneath it. He screamed, as much out of alarm as pain, instinctively jerking his hand away. His attempt to do so was futile, however, as the knife embedded in it kept it firmly lodged in place.

"Goddamnit, Vincent!" Cloud shouted. "What the hell are you doing!?"

"Wait," Vincent said, holding Cloud's arm in place. He waited for a few moments, before wrenching the knife out of the table, blood pooling from the wound as he drew it back out. Cloud took his hand back, wincing as he examined the damage done.

"Does it hurt?" the gunman asked.

Cloud glared at him, giving him a look that said 'are you stupid?'

"Of course it f-" he began.

"Well?" Vincent asked.

Cloud paused. He expected to feel pain, but to his surprise, all he could sense in his hand was a kind of vague numbness.

"No..." he said. "It doesn't."

"Would you kindly hold up your hand?" Vincent said.

Cloud did as Vincent asked, holding his lacerated hand up for everyone to see. The wound was barely perceptible, and within moments it had disappeared entirely. The others watched in amazement as the cut sealed itself, leaving behind no trace of its existence.

"What...the..._fuck_?" Cid said.

"Jenova," Vincent said.

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked.

"It's the Jenova cells in your body," Vincent said to Cloud. "They're becoming more aggressive about defending their 'host'."

"Why?" Yuffie asked.

"It is possible that they've simply had enough time to metastasize," Vincent said. "It's been seven years, after all. But I would surmise that your recent contact with all these Jenova creatures, not to mention Comus himself, has somehow triggered a reaction in them, accelerating their growth."

Vincent indicated the point of contact again. "You saw how easily your wound healed. As the cells' growth proceeds, there's no telling exactly what the effects will be. Who knows? You might even be able to cheat death, as Comus did when we fought him."

The gunman turned to the rest of the group. "Needless to say, this is bad news."

"What do you mean, 'bad news'?" Cid asked. "You're saying the kid here is practically indestructible. That sounds like just the edge we need right now."

"And what happens when the cells take over completely?" Vincent asked. "Do you remember all those people from the SOLDIER project? Most of them could barely remember their own names. The same could happen to him."

Vincent looked over at Cloud again. "If this keeps going, you might not even be you anymore. We need to do something about this, and the sooner, the better. This medical facility has the equipment we need. It might be possible to excise the cells from your body, but if we don't act now, it may be too late to do anything about it afterwards."

"No, Cid's right," Cloud said. "This could be the edge we need. If I can heal this fast, I can keep Comus busy while the rest of you extract the prisoners and demolish the fortress."

"It's a Faustian bargain, at best," Vincent said. "You could end up dead or insane."

"Well, one of those things we don't need to worry about," Cid said, patting Cloud on the shoulder. "Ol' Spikes here has always had a screw loose."

Vincent shook his head. He was becoming visibly frustrated by his friends' refusal to listen to him.

"...Cloud," Vincent said, stopping him as he made to leave. "I strongly urge you to reconsider."

"Noted," Cloud replied, before exiting the room.

* * *

"It's a new day," Cid said to the others as they exited the Highwind.

As the sun came up in the sky, they were met with a handful of young men and women from the underground city. Most of them looked gaunt and haggard, but there was a hunger in their eyes, a desire to see a new dawn.

Cloud walked down the line, inspecting the new crop of recruits. There were perhaps four dozen in total, not as many as he had hoped would show up, but it was enough for now. He knew that as they proceeded, there would be more recruits coming to join them. They would simply have to demonstrate to them that they could succeed, in order to start winning others to their cause.

"Well, they're here," Vincent said. "But are you sure they will be enough?"

"There will be more, once people see what we're doing," Cloud said. "We start training those we have."

He walked over to the group of Cetra men and women, as they lined themselves up for inspection. "This is the day we start fighting back," he said, addressing his recruits. "And we fight for something more than territory. More than revenge. We fight for a future free from fear, free from suffering. This is the day we say 'Here, and no further'."

He walked down the beach, tracing a line in the sand with his blade, diving past from present.

"All those who would serve, step forward," he said.

The new recruits all looked at one another, hesitating. Then the first of them began to cross the line. The Avalanchers watched as more of them stepped forward, enjoining yet others to do the same, until every last one of them had passed the threshold. Cloud nodded, acknowledging their bravery as the last of them crossed over to the other side.

"Let's get started."

* * *

Over the coming days, he did his best to pass on his skills to his new recruits. He had never taught or trained anyone in any official capacity, but years of brutal training exercises at the hands of zealous drill instructors had left their mark on him, and imparted to him all he needed to know about administering such exercises to others.

He remembered how, during his days as a Shinra neophyte, Sephiroth would on occasion come down to the training fields to teach advanced recruits battlefield tactics and conduct exercises. His exercises were always the hardest, designed to stretch their endurance and their resolve to the breaking point. Anyone who failed to complete one of his training exercises or didn't live up to his standards could forget about being accepted into the SOLDIER program. If not for Zack's guidance and encouragement, he might have dropped out of the military altogether. But he'd made himself a solemn promise to see his training through to the end. And he did. Almost.

And though he had later come to despise his childhood icon, he had forgotten none of the lessons he had learned under his tutelage. Sephiroth had been revered as a both an exemplary soldier and a brilliant tactician, and he had lived up to that reputation. All soldiers trained by him, even those who did not make it into Shinra's SOLDIER program, were considered some of the finest in the world, made so under his guidance.

Cloud surveyed his recruits in the same manner as Sephiroth once had, echoing the General's lessons, even adopting his mannerisms at times. "What is a soldier's most important quality?" he asked, as he walked from one end of the inspection line to the other. "I can tell you what it's not. Not strength. Not speed."

"Awareness," he told them, tapping his forehead. "Know your surroundings. Observe your enemy, and anticipate his actions. Whoever has the better grasp of the battlefield is the one who comes out alive."

He walked from one end of the line to the other, hands clasped behind his back, eyeing each recruit in turn as he passed by. "And whoever ignores these factors will most assuredly be defeated," he finished, before sending them off to run the training course they had built the day before.

Vincent observed him as he conducted the training exercise. "You resemble him more by the day," he remarked.

Vincent had a point, Cloud thought. Over the past few days, he felt as though he had begun to usurp the role of his old mentor. It was strange how things had come full circle. Only a few years ago, he had been a serf in Shinra's armed forces. Now, he was training and leading an army in his own right, a group of irregulars, much like those the original SOLDIER training program had consisted of.

"It is sometimes said that people end up becoming the thing they most despise," Vincent told him. "You might want to take caution in that regard."

"You don't have to worry about that," Cloud said.

"You're right," Vincent said. "_I_ don't."

With that remark, the gunman departed, leaving Cloud to conduct his training exercise.

"All right," Cloud said, turning back to his trainees. "Let's go again."

* * *

Every day, they reclaimed a little bit more of the Cetra homeworld, insofar as they could move around the city safely. And every day, their efforts were having more and more of a cumulative effect. The more recruits they trained, the more showed up the next day. The more recruits showed up, the faster they could clear away the debris left from conflicts past, creating new spaces in which they could train, delimiting safe zones in the city, as well as perimeters from which they could observe Comus's scouting parties.

Nanaki would put together scouting parties of his own, taking them for short visits to the Astra homeworld, raiding old factories and military outposts for vehicles, weapons and equipment, which they brought back to the Cetra homeworld, where Cid and Barret worked overtime to restore the reclaimed technology to working condition.

He knew that their training would be summary at best, but it was enough to get them started. There wouldn't be time to turn them into full-fledged soldiers, but their training would have to suffice. His intent was that he would train them as best he could, and they, in turn, would pass their skills on to newer recruits as they arrived.

In addition, The Avalanchers began to make good use of the weapons caches that they had brought with them from Rocket Town, handing out ordnance and munitions to their recruits for the purposes of training. Vincent, Reeve and Barret trained the recruits to correctly handle firearms and taught them all they knew about proper marksmanship. Yuffie and Tifa did all they could to teach them about close quarters and hand-to-hand combat. All of them offered what training and knowledge they could, but for the most part, the ministrations of training and drilling their new recruits fell to Cloud. His more advanced recruits would, in turn, pass their skills and training on to newer recruits. It was not a perfect system, and there would undoubtedly be gaps in their knowledge, but they could see their disciples grow from a disorganized and frightened band of people into a determined fighting force.

They watched as their army grew. It would not be long before they were ready to take the fight back to their enemy. The day was quickly approaching when they would start to make their first proper inroads into the Astra homeworld, having largely secured their own. They had successfully crafted a fighting legion. The question now was what to do with it.

* * *

Cloud sat at the foot of his bed, checking his sword for cracks or defects. It had taken a fair bit of damage during his fight with Comus, and he had to make sure that it wouldn't shatter on him during their next confrontation.

There was a knock on the door. He looked up from his work, to see Yuffie entering the room.

"You're still up?" she asked, walking over to him. It was well past midnight, yet he seemed as though he had no intention of taking any rest.

"I'll sleep when I'm dead," Cloud replied.

"You don't sleep, you'll die," Yuffie said, sitting down on the bed next to him.

"Yeah..." Cloud replied. "guess that's one of life's conundrums."

She didn't say any more on the subject. She knew that Cloud was as stubborn as they came, and that no amount of persuasion on her part would get him to go to sleep. She figured that fatigue would overtake him eventually, and he would be forced to rest, the same as everyone else, anyway. But she still worried about him.

"So... do you think we can do this?" she asked.

"It won't be easy," he replied. "But... we'll see it through. I know we can."

She looked him in the eye. Though he sounded as though he believed it, he looked troubled, as if not quite convinced himself. "I believe you," she said.

She knew that there was plenty of opportunity for doubt to sink in. But she also knew that if they shied away from this confrontation, they would only be passing on to future generations. Running away was not an option, as far as she was concerned.

"I wonder what the people back home are doing?" she said, looking out the window. "I mean, we've been gone a while, now. My dad must be worried sick."

"You getting homesick?" Cloud asked.

Yuffie chuckled ever so slightly. "It's funny," she said. "I never thought I'd miss the old goat so much. And everyone else. The Da Chao. The dusty streets. That damn bell they always ring in the morning.."

"We'll see home again," Cloud said. "I promise."

"I know," she replied.

She leaned in closer, placing a soft kiss on his lips. He returned the kiss, cupping her face in his hands, savouring her touch, and the brief reprieve it afforded him from all their worries and concerns. A moment later, they drew apart again. Though they were more open about their relationship now, especially in the others' presence, they were still taking things slowly. Neither of them wanted to rush things. She squeezed his hand, before getting from the bed, heading for the doorway.

"Get some sleep, okay?" she said as she left.

Cloud nodded. Though he still felt that he had too much work to do, he decided to take her advice. He set the blade aside, and lay down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling, hands folded underneath his head. An hour or two later, he slept. He did not dream.

* * *

"You can open your eyes now," Vincent said.

Tifa gasped, taking in the sights of the room they were in. In the days following their return to the Cetra homeworld, the Crystal Palace had been reclaimed and partially restored. Old paintings, sculptures and other works of art had been recovered and returned to their proper places. Cracked and faded though they might be, they retained much of their former splendour, as did the palace itself. But this new room's decorations far exceeded all those she had seen before.

The room itself appeared to be a bedchamber of some kind, spacious and laden with grand works of art. Tall windows offered magnificent views of the vistas below, and the whole room was softly lit by candlesticks set in ornate sconces and candelabra.

"What is this place?" Tifa asked.

"The emperor's bedroom," Vincent replied. "I thought we might make use of it for ourselves. The Highwind is becoming a bit... cramped lately, after all."

"How forward of you, Mr. Valentine," Tifa said with a huff, pretending to be insulted. "I think you owe me an apology. Or at least a compliment."

Vincent walked over to her, playing along. "You're very beautiful," he said, brushing a lock of hair from her eyes.

"Come on, now," she said, crossing her arms. "You can do better than that."

"Very well," Vincent said. "You are the most stunning creature mortal man has yet laid eyes upon."

Tifa smiled, tracing her finger down the scales of his cuirass. "Now you're getting warmer, Mr. Valentine. A few more words like that, and I might just let you back into my good graces."

"I'll try my best, then," Vincent said, leaning in to kiss her.

Later in the night, as they lay in bed together, they continued to talk and take in the view outside. "We must be pretty high up," Tifa said.

"Top of the world," Vincent said. "I promised you I'd take you there, didn't I?"

"It's beautiful," she said, looking out over the Cetra homeworld. "I can only imagine what it was like back before the war."

"It's a place worth saving," Vincent said. "At any rate, it might be worth dying for."

"You're planning on dying?" Tifa asked.

"Not as long as I have you to come back to," Vincent replied.

She smiled, drawing him closer for another kiss.

* * *

The following morning, they were back on the Astra homeworld. They had set up a small forward operating base, and were taking their first steps towards establishing a proper perimeter from which they could observe their enemy's movements.

Nanaki was out with one of his scouting parties, while the rest of them went about their usual business, clearing out debris and training their recruits. Yuffie was left with some spare time, which Cid had asked her to spend helping him with a pet project of his. The captain had not mentioned to her exactly what it was about, but she was curious, and decided to help him out with it, nonetheless.

Cid stood at the base of a tall, narrow tower, which extended from the elevated roadside to high in the air, as well as down to the black rivers below. Yuffie was busy climbing around the outside of the lower levels, patching and hooking up a number of cables, swinging from one side of the pylon to the other with practiced ease.

Before the tower lay a row of large metal slabs, lined up on the ground in a nearly perfect symmetrical pattern. Cid looked of the row of slabs again as he rewired a number of small cables inside a control panel set in the railing surrounding the tower.

Yuffie climbed back up to his level as he finished his own repairs, closing the control panel and punching a couple of buttons on it. Nothing much happened.

"You got those cables hooked up?" he asked.

"All done," Yuffie replied, patting her hands together, causing small clouds of dust to rise from them.

"All right," Cid said. "the generator is warming up, and.."

There was a steady humming noise from below, gradually growing louder. As the hum reached its crescendo, the control panel next to them lit up.

"Looks like it's working," he said.

"Nice," Yuffie said. The two of them grinned, exchanging a high five, before continuing their work.

"Okay", Cid said, punching a few more buttons on the panel, before pulling the lever on its side. "let's start her up."

As the lever came up, one of the massive stone slabs in front of them shot up into the air, before coming to a complete stop, hanging suspended in the air several meters above them, with seemingly nothing holding it up.

"Cool," Yuffie said, looking up at the block suspended in the air.

"Ain't it, though?" Cid said, looking rather pleased with himself.

"What _is_ that?" she asked.

"It's an anti-gravity block," Cid said. "Well, a magnetic block, technically speaking. The Astra used them to move things around, apparently."

The block wavered in the air for a second, then fell down again, crushing a number of old vehicles underneath it.

"Uh, yeah," Cid said. "Those generators are still kinda on the fritz. So watch your step."

The block twitched again, launching back up into the air, where it remained, suspended by the forces acting upon it. Yuffie sauntered over to the remains of the vehicle, taking care not to step underneath the block.

"That thing's not going anywhere, is it?" she said, inspecting the crushed car.

"Doesn't look like it," Cid said, stroking his chin. "Ya know, that gives me an idea.."

An hour later, they had called in the rest of Avalanche, gathering the rest of the group at the tower for a demonstration. They had piled a number of old, ruined vehicles on top of one another, placing them underneath one of the grav-blocks.

"Now, watch this," Cid said, pulling the lever.

As before, the block came plummeting down, crushing everything beneath it. Cid sent the block back up into the air, revealing what little remained of the pile, which was now nearly flattened to the ground.

Barret snorted. "Huh... Well, if we ever need to fight an army of broken cars, we'll know who to call," he said.

"I had something else in mind," Cid said. "Remember how those Jenova things got smushed back at the fortress? Got me thinking. They're not scared of ordinary weapons. Guns, bullets, javelins... They pretty much laugh that shit off."

He pulled the lever once more, sending the block falling to the ground. The heavy block landed again, sending clouds of dust flying out from underneath it as it hit the ground.

"But _this_.." he said. "This might just give them pause."

"If you can't beat'em," Yuffie said. "crush'em."

"Good thinking," Cloud said.

"So how do we lure them underneath these things?" Reeve asked.

"Ask him," Cid said, pointing to Cloud. "He's supposed to be the brilliant strategist here."

"We'll figure something out," Cloud said. "But at least we have something to fight back with now."

"So, what do you think? Is it time to move in?" Tifa asked.

"Not yet," Cloud said. "It's still too risky. We have to make sure we've secured the Cetra homeworld before we can move on to this one."

"We'd better not waste time, then," Vincent said.

* * *

Back in the underground city on the Cetra homeworld, spirits were high. The Avalanchers sat in one of the dining halls, enjoying a meal with their fellow soldiers. A few of them went about training and carting supplies back and forth throughout the city, while others carried out repairs and construction work. The whole place was alive with more activity than it had seen in years.

Though most of the Cetra were by now wholly engaged in their new enterprise, there was one who was still vehemently opposed to it. As they got up from their feast and returned to work, they were confronted by the Cetra leader. With him was the little girl, Aya, who had tried to stow away with them before they had departed for the Astra homeworld.

Sigil watched with disapproval as his people continued to prepare for war. "You damned profligate," he said, looking over at Cloud. "You would doom us all."

Clearly, he detested the idea of provoking the enemy, fearing that it would trigger a retaliation which none of them would survive. As much as his attitude towards Avalanche irritated them, they knew that the old man was simply being cautious. But they also knew that the time for caution was long past.

"Comus and his forces will destroy you all," Cloud replied. "It doesn't matter whether they do it today, tomorrow or a hundred years from now. They are coming back to finish the job. And your people won't be the last."

Sigil shook his head again, departing. The little girl remained, however.

"About my brother.." Aya said.

"I'm sorry," Yuffie said, looking dismayed. "We didn't find him."

The little girl nodded. There was a long silence before she spoke again. The other Avalanchers went on ahead, leaving just the two of them.

"You're going to stop him, aren't you?" she asked, looking up at Yuffie. "The bad man."

"We will," Yuffie said, kneeling down, placing a hand on Aya's shoulder. "I promise you."

The little girl latched onto her, hugging her tightly. She returned the hug, putting on a brave face for Aya's sake. She hoped that she could live up to her promise, but there was no way that she could know for certain. That was what bothered her the most.

* * *

Cloud stood on the observation deck of the Highwind, practicing his sword techniques. He tried to picture in his mind his fight with Comus, visualizing his enemy's moves, his methods of attack. For someone of such cadaverous appearance, the ancient warlord had moved with a speed which beggared belief. He had never seen anyone fight like that, not even Sephiroth.

Comus's fighting style was economical, completely devoid of flourishes and embellishment, consisting only of speed and sheer, brutal strength. Killing his enemy was out of the question, as far as he knew. He had already succeeded in doing so, and that had only served to irritate him. He considered the idea that Comus might have allowed him a free hit, perhaps to underline just how hopeless opposing him really was.

He brought the blade up again, as he completed a series of attacks, holding his stance for a moment. Then he dropped his sword, catching hold of the railings as his body was suddenly racked with violent coughs. He struggled to regain control of his body as the convulsions ceased, raising himself back to his feet. As he did, he realized that he had been coughing up blood.

Black blood.

"_That's not good.." _he thought.

The ichor in his palm looked more viscous than blood ought to, he realized. He wiped the black liquid away as he raised himself to his feet again.

"Hey," Yuffie said, entering the observation deck.

"Hey," Cloud replied, wiping the remaining residue from his chin before turning to face her.

"Are you all right?" she asked, looking at him with concern. He wondered if she had observed his coughing fit.

"Uh, yeah. Fine," Cloud replied. He didn't want to lie to her, but he didn't want to upset or worry her, either. There was a chance that his condition might simply pass, given time. Or so he hoped.

She eyed him for a moment longer, saying nothing. "What's up?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Cid said he wants to talk to about something in the meeting room," Yuffie informed him.

"Okay," Cloud replied. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked.

He nodded, picking his blade up again, sheathing it. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

She headed back inside, glancing at him one last time before entering the airship. The look on her face told him that she was less than convinced by his assurances.

* * *

"What's going on?" Cloud asked as he entered the Highwind's bridge.

"Another one of Comus's patrols," Vincent said. "It's closing in on the Cetra hideout."

"So we take it out before it gets there," Cloud said. "We can just crush them, right? Like you showed us the other day."

"We can't exactly haul one of those giant blocks with us," Cid said. "Besides, they're all on the other side, remember?"

"I didn't say we had to use blocks," Cloud said.

The swordsman indicated the ground below them. The others soon realized what he was getting at. There wouldn't be any need for bringing the grav-blocks with them. The Cetra homeworld itself was loaded with debris, after all. _Heavy_ debris.

The captain grinned. "All right. Mount up, people," he said, taking the Highwind's controls. "We're going Jenova hunting."


	23. The Hunt

**THROUGH THE ASHES OF EMPIRES**

**CHAPTER 23  
****THE HUNT**

* * *

Cid waited and watched as the ground rushed by. "Now," he said, as he spotted his target.

Down in the cargo bay, Vincent gave the signal to his team, composed of newly trained Cetra recruits. On his mark, they began to push the broken column out towards the open cargo bay doors. The pillar, one of several they had brought with them from the city's ruins, was at least twice their height, and weighed enough to require several hands just to budge it. More than enough to put their intended target down for good.

On the ground, Barret and Tifa approached the enemy's scouting party as it neared the entrance to the Cetra's hidden city. Upon spotting the two of them, the Jenova creature leading the group diverted its course, heading straight for them. The Avalanchers, having split into groups of two in order to cover more ground, were all vastly outnumbered, and would be easy prey for such a horde.

As the tainted creatures neared them, the Highwind rushed by overhead. A few seconds later, a heavy, cylindrical object came crashing down on top of the Jenova creature and its entourage, killing most of them in an instant. Tifa and Barret moved in, swiftly culling the remaining monsters, now scattered and confused. Easy prey.

"That's two down," Tifa said, touching her earpiece.

"All right," Cid said. "Just need to clean up the last group. Cloud, Yuffie, you guys set?"

"We're looking at'em now," Yuffie replied over the radio. She and Cloud were some distance away from the others, monitoring the last scouting party. The Jenova creatures had not yet noticed them, and were making their way towards one of the hidden entrances to the underground city.

"We're set," Vincent said, watching his team roll another column into place.

"Good to go here," Cid said. "Line'em up for us, will ya?"

"All right," Cloud said, looking over at Yuffie. "Time to move in."

They got up from their vantage point, moving cautiously down the hill of rubble, approaching the Jenova creatures in order to get their attention. As expected, the monsters, upon spotting movement, quickly took an interest in them, altering their course. Above them, the Highwind approached, ready to drop its lethal payload over their heads.

"Ready?" Vincent asked. His team gave him indication that it was.

"Just a sec," Cid said, manoeuvring the Highwind into place. "Need to get a little closer.."

The scouting party, headed by the gargantuan Jenova creature in its centre, moved in closer to where Cloud and Yuffie stood, right out in the open. Four of the wolf-like creatures at the head of the pack broke off from the rest of the group, charging at them. They cut them down easily, knowing that they were merely the opening salvo. Clearing the gore from their weapons, they took up their combat stances, bracing themselves for further attacks.

"Okay... launch!" Cid said.

Down in the cargo bay, Vincent gave the go-ahead to his team, joining them in their labour. The new column was heavier than the last, and required even greater effort to move. As they pushed the column towards the cargo bay doors, the ship was rocked by turbulence, causing the column to slip out through the cargo bay doors horizontal to the surface, and not perpendicular, as they had intended.

"Damn it," Vincent said, watching the column as it fell down to the ground.

The column came crashing to the ground, shattering on impact, just as the main Jenova force bore down on the two warriors standing in their way. Yuffie and Cloud shielded their eyes, coughing as the dust from the impact washed over them. "Cutting it a little close there, Vince," Yuffie said, reeling from the impact.

As the dust settled, they realized that the lopsided attack had killed only a few of the smaller monsters, but left most of them alive, including the Jenova creature leading the group.

"Oh, crap.." Yuffie said, looking up at the Jenova monster now towering over her.

"Shit," Cid said. "We missed."

"What now?" Cloud asked, bringing his sword up again, taking a defensive position as their enemies recovered from the failed attack.

"We're gonna have to circle around, get another column into place," Cid said.

"Got it," Cloud replied. "We'll keep them busy."

"You take the scouts," Yuffie said. "I'll handle the big one."

"You sure?" Cloud asked.

There was little time for debate, however, as the wolf-creatures launched themselves into an attack. Moving in a fast and coordinated manner, they tried to encircle him, charging at him one after another. Cloud cut them down one by one as they lunged at him, letting one sword stroke lead into another, the moves so practiced now that they were second nature to him. His enemies put up a good fight, but they presented no real challenge to him. Taking them down was only a question of time.

Still surrounded, he glanced over at Yuffie, who was already running off, drawing the main Jenova creature away from its underlings.

* * *

She ran down the streets of the ruined city, with the Jenova creature in tow. She had intended to take the thing down on foot, but she knew it would be easier said than done. Although they had killed several Jenovas before, the prospect of taking one on head-to-head was still a daunting one, and the one pursuing her seemed just a little larger than the ones she remembered fighting.

The creature lashed out at her, smashing the tops of nearby buildings into pieces, sending chunks of them crashing down into the streets right next to her.

"Any day now, guys," she said, speaking into her earpiece, doing her best to keep the rampaging creature at bay.

"We're almost there," Cid said. "Just hang on."

"Oh, yeah? Well, why don't _you_ come down here and... whoa!"

Her smart-aleck reply was cut short as she leapt back just in time to avoid the swipe aimed at her head.

"Are you okay?" Cloud's voice came over the radio. "Where are you?"

"Down by the square," Yuffie replied. "I'm fine. She's a big one, but there's just one of'em."

No sooner had she spoken the words, than the creature doubled over, heaving, as though in labour, before launching a clutch of black pods into the street. The pods disgorged black ichor, writhing, uncoiling into smaller Jenova spawn.

"Um... That's new.." Yuffie said, backing away from the newborn horde.

Seeing that she was vastly outnumbered, she turned and ran further down the street, crossing a half-intact bridge, heading for a nearby tower complex.

"Cid, where's that airdrop?" she asked as she bolted up the building's crumbling stairwell, heading for the safety of higher ground.

"We're on our way," Cid replied. "It's kinda hard to aim with all these buildings around, ya know."

"Could have told me that sooner," Yuffie said, as she reached the rooftop. She leaned over the balcony, trying to ascertain the position of her pursuers. To her dismay, she noticed that they were still after her, climbing up the exterior of the building with alarming ease. Behind them, the giant Jenova creature slithered down the street, forcing its way inside the building.

She fought off the smaller creatures while their 'mother' ambled up the narrow stairwell, even though it looked as though it could barely support the monster's weight. As she cut down the last of the Jenova spawn, the primary one came bursting through the doorway at the top of the stairwell, shattering the exit with its bulk, leaving her with no means of egress.

"Oh, great.." Yuffie said. She turned and ran again, looking for another means of escape. Leaping across the gap between one building and the next, in order to buy some time, she readied herself for the coming attack. The Jenova creature did not relent in its pursuit, crossing the gap by steading itself against the building's balcony with its numerous feelers.

"Can we do this another time, maybe?" Yuffie said, backing away from the towering monstrosity. "See, I had plans to.."

She was cut off as the monster swung at her again, the attack lifting her off the ground before she could move out of the way. Rolling to avoid a bad landing, she gritted her teeth, readying her combat shuriken again as the monster approached her. "Okay, then," she said, wiping the trickle of blood from her mouth. "You want to play? Bring it!"

She charged the creature, slashing away at any feelers that got too close to her. Aggravated by her counter-attack, the Jenova creature wrapped one arm around her shuriken, wrenching it out of her hands, before tossing it aside. Lashing out, it caught her by the ankle with one of its feelers. Yanking her off her feet, the creature dragged her along the ground, pulling her within striking distance. Yuffie dug through her pouch for any means of extricating herself. Smoke bombs and caltrops. Nothing that would be of any use against an enemy this size. And no materia, the planet's weakened state rendering their use all but impossible.

Taking hold of one of her throwing knives, she gouged away at the feeler, cutting herself loose. Getting up again, she looked for some way to reclaim her combat shuriken. But the lumbering creature, aware of what she was trying to do, moved in the way, denying her access to it. The creature was about to lash out again, when someone leapt down from the building nearby, slicing its outstretched arms off in the process.

Cloud looked over at Yuffie, and they exchanged nods in silence. They knew each other's combat styles well enough to communicate their intentions to one another without the need for words. He would keep their enemy busy, while she slipped around it to retrieve her weapon.

The creature moved in closer, lunging at the swordsman. He brought up his blade to block the attack, the needles underneath the creature's epidermis tearing the flesh from his arm as the blow struck. Cloud grimaced, dodging out of the way of the creature's follow-up attack, then countered with a series of quick cuts, working his way closer to his enemy's torso.

As he moved in closer, the monster attempted to bat his sword away, without success. Then, as he was about to strike at its midsection, the creature wrapped one feeler around Cloud's left arm, then his right, before lifting him up off the ground.

The feelers wound tighter around his limbs, cutting off all blood flow, causing him to lose all feeling in his arms as the creature pulled away at them even harder, trying to tear them clear off. Cloud struggled, kicking away at the creature's face in an effort to free himself, even as he could feel his extremities going numb from the sheer pressure being applied to them. The creature let out a horrific roar, before tossing him aside, into the corner of the rooftop.

Yuffie rushed over to his side, trying to help raise him back to his feet. The Jenova creature moved in, towering over to them, raising its two main arms up to the sky, preparing to deliver the finishing blow. Before it could do so, however, there was a loud boom, as the last column came crashing down onto its head, shattering the floor beneath it, leaving only a gaping hole in the rooftop where it had stood. Above them, there came the loud roar of the Highwind's engines, their vision momentarily darkened by the airship's shadow as it passed by overhead.

"Are you okay?" Yuffie asked, noting the damage to Cloud's arm. The wound looked far worse than she had anticipated. His right arm was left barely hanging on by the ligament, and blood was pooling on the ground beside them at an alarming rate. Despite this, he seemed strangely calm.

"Let's not do that again," Cloud said, breathing a sigh of relief as he rested his head in Yuffie's lap.

A few minutes later, the Highwind was on the ground. Their friends hurried over to where they sat. Cloud lay against the cracked remains of an old fountain, resting. Yuffie knelt down beside him, and was tending to his wounds as best she could.

"You guys okay?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah, we're all right," Yuffie said, "but Cloud could use some medical.."

But as they turned their attention back to him, they saw that the wound, which had looked as though it might be fatal a moment ago, had already healed, leaving no sign that it had even been there. Not even a scratch.

"..Never mind," Yuffie said.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Dear readers, again, you have my apologies for such a late update. I've not had much time to write lately, and I've divided what time I've had for said activity between finishing 'Waiting' and scribbling a number of short one-shots. ('Chirality' seems to have been warmly received, in particular. I do think it's one of the better pieces that I've done, if I do say so myself). Anyway..

There are a couple of other reasons why it's taken me so long to update TTAOE. This was originally part of a much longer chapter, but its different parts weren't quite meshing in the right way, and it was getting to be an unholy mess in terms of trying to manage it, so I decided to break it down into smaller parts, this being the first one.

The other reason is that I've been mulling over the ending that I originally had planned for this story, and finally realized that it just wasn't working. Being that's the case, I've charted the course towards a different, more fitting ending. The next couple of chapters will start to lay the groundwork for it, but in a way that will still complement what's already out there (I hope).

Anyway, I'd like to ask you guys whether you'd prefer shorter chapters and more frequent updates, or longer chapters and subsequently longer waits. I think it might be easier to post story updates in smaller chunks in the future, but do let me know what you think.

Well, 'till next time.


	24. A Light Ever Lasting

_Be near me when my light is low,  
__when the blood creeps, and the nerves prick  
__and tingle; and the heart is sick,  
__and all the wheels of Being slow._

-Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 'In Memoriam A.H.H.'  
Canto 50, first stanza

**THROUGH THE ASHES OF EMPIRES**

**CHAPTER 24  
****A LIGHT EVER LASTING**

**Part 1****  
**

* * *

They converged on the ivory beach beneath the ancient palace, Cetra and Avalancher alike, encircling the blaze, celebrating their victory. Following the day's hunt, they had gathered up the remains of their foes, building a great pyre on the ocean side leeward of the black river, where they discarded their remnants to ensure that they would not regenerate. As they cast their remains upon the roaring fire, piling up one carcass after another upon the growing conflagration, the Cetra with whom the Avalanchers had set out on their first mission chanted and cheered, raising their fists in the air, applauding, shouting, singing, dancing.

"A strange funeral, this," Nanaki remarked. "I doubt there will be any tears shed for the departed, and certainly no eulogy... other than 'good riddance'."

"Amen," Vincent replied.

Their Cetra friends seemed especially heartened by their success, the day's brief confrontation affirming the notion that their enemy could indeed be defeated. And so, they celebrated with abandon, the rout having left them feeling as though they were invincible. Although the Avalanchers participated in the celebrations, their mood was more somber, tempered by their experiences. Unlike their new recruits, they had some idea of the horrors that awaited them on the other side. They knew that today's skirmish was only a taste of things to come. In comparison, their new Cetra friends were still innocent, still just children. They would see real battle soon enough. But for now, they were content to let them bask in their first victory. There would be time for disillusionment later.

Within a few hours, their gathering had grown from one of mere utility to a full-blown party. The Avalanchers had brought out what little food they still had from the Highwind's cargo bay, and had cobbled together a set of drinks, some from their old stores and some made with Cid's ad-hoc still. It wasn't long before they were all wandering about the beach, drinks in hand, feasting, talking, laughing, and enjoying simply being alive.

As the night drew on, and their young friends mingled and chatted, they could see friendships and even relationships forming. When they first joined up, their young recruits had been shy not just of Avalanche, but each other. But now that they had had their first chance to test themselves against the enemy that they had hidden from for so long, those barriers were being broken down, little by little. The alcohol and the loud music playing on the airship's PA system were no doubt helping the mood along, as well.

The Avalanchers, too, stood gathered around the fire, taking part in the feast and exchanging stories as they enjoyed a well-deserved break.

"Wait... You actually kicked one of those things in the _face_?" Cid asked, turning to Cloud.

"Yeah. Nearly got his arm ripped off in the process," Yuffie said.

Cid shook his head and laughed. "Crazy bastard."

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Cloud said.

Yuffie gave him a reproachful look. "You promised me you'd be more careful," she said.

"Sorry," Cloud said. "I didn't mean to worry you."

"Well... I _do_ worry," Yuffie said, moving closer to him. "A lot."

"Too much," Cloud said, moving in closer as well.

"Says you," Yuffie said, looping her arms around his neck. The two of them shared a kiss on the beach, their act of intimacy eliciting whistling and applause from the rest of the group.

"This is the part where I tell you to get a room, right?" Cid said as they broke off, having stood right next to them for the entire duration of the kiss.

"If you want," Cloud said.

"Will you?" Cid asked.

"Nope," Yuffie replied, grinning. Cid rolled his eyes, taking another swig from his bottle as she and Cloud turned to each other for a second kiss.

As they continued to chat, one of their new recruits came up to them. "Um... excuse me. Mr. Cid?" he said, saluting the three of them.

"'Mr. Cid'? I swear, these newcomers.." Cid muttered, shaking his head, before turning to the nervous-looking recruit. "It's just 'Cid', kiddo. What do you need?"

The young man relaxed his posture. "Well... we found something strange near the outskirts," he said, handing Cid a recon photo. "I thought you should know about it."

Cid frowned as he took the photograph, studying the blurry image imprinted on its surface. It was too muddled to make out any details, but it seemed to depict a hollow or crater of some kind, unlike any they had seen before on this planet.

"What's your name, son?" Cid asked.

"Arctus, sir," the Cetra replied.

"All right, Arctus. We'll look into it tomorrow," Cid said, handing the photograph back.

"What about tonight?" Arctus asked.

"Tonight's _your_ night," Cid said, patting the young man on the back. "Go on, have some fun. Get drunk."

"Yes, sir," the young Cetra replied, nodding and looking relieved.

"And get laid while you're at it," Cid called as the young man left, returning to his friends.

"You're a real role model, Cid," Tifa said, crossing her arms.

"I do my best," Cid replied, knocking back the rest of his whiskey bottle.

* * *

"...Sariss."

Malthus looked up from his work, startled by the unexpected utterance. At the far side of the lab, Comus stood before the tall windows, looking out on the Astra homeworld, watching as the Cetra soldiers went about their work, fortifying their position at the edge of the city. He watched all of this with seeming indifference, standing perfectly still, hands folded behind his back, observing the growing rebel army as he had done for some time.

"Did you say something, my lord?" Malthus asked.

"Nothing," Comus replied, turning his head ever so slightly towards the scientist. "How goes the work?"

"Well enough," Malthus said.

The scientist laid his tools aside, sidling up to his master. There seemed to be a more somber air about him today than usual. Normally, the monomaniac warlord took no rest from his work, and certainly gave none to his subordinates, but as the hour grew late, he seemed to be becoming reclusive, even introspective. It was not something that Malthus was used to seeing.

"The, ah, enemy continues to gather strength, I see," Malthus said, looking out the window. "It won't be long before they're at our gates.."

"Let them come," Comus said. "We will be ready for them."

"Yes, my lord," Malthus replied.

He did not understand his master's insistence on inaction, and in truth, he was ill at ease watching their enemies gathering strength while they stood idly by. But then again, he was no military strategist. He assumed that Comus had some design in mind, some stratagem that he was keeping secret from everyone around him.

"The Cetra scientist..." Comus said. "Have you extracted the information we require from him?"

"Almost," Malthus replied.

"Almost?" Comus asked, giving Malthus a baleful stare. It was clear that he was returning to his usual demeanour, and Malthus knew that if there was one thing he did not brook, it was failure.

"The... er... gate is functional. The initial test was a success," Malthus said. "But I was unable to extract the co-ordinates you wanted from our captive."

"And how do you propose to rectify this problem?" Comus asked, turning to face the timorous scientist.

"I'm still picking his brains," Malthus said. "Well... what's left of them.."

"In other words, you are at a dead end," Comus said.

"...Yes," Malthus replied with hesitation.

He had almost expected Comus to strike him down where he stood, but the warlord simply turned his attention back to the view of the city below. "In that case, we may require another member of the Invictus lineage," he said.

"Who?" Malthus asked.

"Delos had a sister, did he not?" Comus said.

Malthus racked his feeble memory. He recalled the young man calling out for someone during his 'interrogation' sessions. Someone named 'Aya'.

"Yes, but... she can't possibly know the way to Elysium," Malthus said.

"No, she can't," Comus said.

"Then, why.." Malthus began.

"I have another destination in mind," Comus said.

"How will we find her?" Malthus asked.

"I have a plan," Comus said. "Gather our forces, and prepare the new portal gates."

"Yes, my lord," Malthus said.

* * *

"Okay... stop me if you've seen this one before," Reeve said. He shuffled the deck as Aya watched, mesmerized. He arranged the cards on the small table between them, then held his hand in the air, hovering over them, as though he were still deciding which one to pick up, although he already knew which one was hers.

The young girl had joined Avalanche and their Cetra companions on the beach, wondering what all the commotion was about. As things were getting a little rowdy outside, Reeve had brought her up to the Highwind's bridge, and for the better part of an hour had been putting on a impromptu magic show for the young Cetra, consisting of a few card tricks and sleights of hand that he had picked up during his time with Shinra.

He took his time choosing, picking out a single card from all the ones laid out in front of them, then flipped it over to reveal Aya's chosen card, the seven of clubs. He smiled as she stared at the card, wide-eyed, mouth agape, honestly amazed at what had just transpired.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"Magic," Reeve said.

"You mean... like when people use materia?" Aya asked.

Reeve chuckled, patting the young girl on the head. "No," he replied. "This is _real_ magic."

"Can you do one more?" Aya asked.

"It's getting to be way past your bedtime, I'm sure," Reeve said, checking his watch.

"Just one more?" Aya asked. "Please?"

"All right," Reeve said. "One more."

He performed another simple card trick for her, taking an undeniable pleasure in the way the young girl watched his sleight of hand with sheer amazement, even after repeat performances.

"Oh, by the way.." Reeve said, as he put away his deck of cards. "Could you wait here for a minute? I want to show you something."

He left her for a moment, heading inside his quarters to pick up a small box, which he then placed on the table in front of her. He removed the lid to reveal a stuffed doll in the shape of a toy cat wearing a small, golden crown.

"It's stopped working, but... I thought you should have it," Reeve said, removing the toy cat from its box, handing it to Aya. It was the same one he had once employed at his proxy in order to ingratiate himself with Avalanche while he was still working for Shinra. Since those days, it had gradually started to break down, and he had never been able to get it working properly again. He'd removed the mechanical workings from his faithful ally, but he could never quite bring himself to throw it away.

"His name is Cait, and he needs a good owner," Reeve said.

The young girl embraced the toy cat. She seemed to truly cherish it. Reeve got the feeling that there weren't many such toys to be found on this world.

"Thank you, Mr. Reeve," Aya said.

"Don't mention it," Reeve replied. "Go on, now. Scoot. Get some shut-eye, okay?"

Aya nodded, smiling, before scampering off back to the safety of her home in the underground city.

As Reeve watched her leave the airship, Nanaki came up next to him. "About her brother..." he said. "Do you think there's any possibility he could still be alive?"

Reeve shook his head, sighing. "I doubt it. I just don't have the heart to break it to her."

"I know what you mean," Nanaki replied. "But we can't persist in delusions forever, however comforting they may be."

* * *

**Author's notes**

My humblest apologies once again for how long it's taking me to update this story. It wasn't until I took the time this week to do a half-hour writing session which resulted in a single complete sentence that I realized I've been suffering from a case of writer's block all along, especially with this chapter. A strange kind of writer's block, at that. Gene Fowler once reportedly said that "writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead". Well, this case of writer's block is somewhat different from that. I'll have a half-finished scene with a bunch of special symbols and notes for sections that need filling in or changing, approaching said scene with the best of intentions to hammer out a few more paragraphs, and then nothing happens.

It's not a case of not knowing where the story is headed (I have a pretty good idea now, though for a while I admittedly felt as though I had painted myself into a corner in terms of narrative), or staring at a blank document so much as a half-finished one. I'm not grousing, mind you. Just letting you guys know why it's taking such a long time. I do plan to finish this story, though, writer's block or no, and I'd like to get it done before the end of the year, if possible. I have a bad habit of leaving things unfinished, and I'd be rather cross with myself if I let that happen to this story.

The only solution that I can think of is to break the material that I already have down into smaller portions. That'll help me to stay motivated while keeping this story alive. Updates will likely be brief, but should be more frequent than before. Let's just say that I won't be writing a 15,000 word chapter again any time soon.

This chapter will be something of an interlude before moving into the final act, and will most likely comprise four sections of around one or two thousand words each. These should be taken as one logical section; that is to say, if I ever get around to doing a second draft or a re-write of this story, these updates will all be pieced together into one chapter.

Also, being that this story has amassed a sizeable cast of supporting characters over time, I might include a character list with one of the "Author's notes" sections in a future update. For now, there are two characters I think I should at least give a brief mention. 'Sariss' was the empress of the old empire, back before the Astra invaded the Cetra homeworld in the prologue. (I had to look up the name myself, since I'd forgotten it, seeing as how she only appears in the first chapter). 'Delos Invictus' is the name of Aya's brother. We've not actually seen him in the story, and since Malthus informs us that he is more or less dead, we're not likely to. However, since I've expanded Aya's role in this story, I thought that she and her brother should have a last name.

In closing, I would like to thank the readers for their remarks and insights. Special thanks go to JPElles and Riemann Hypothesis for their input and advice. Also, to address the latter's concern about time discrepancies: It's not time dilation that occurs, but rather a time delay when traveling vast distances. I figured that portal travel, though quick, shouldn't be instantaneous, especially when someone is traversing entire solar systems or perhaps further still. For a second, I was worried that I might have a plot hole on my hands, but it's not a case of time running differently on different worlds, but simply one of travel time. Of course, if anyone _does_ spot a plot hole somewhere, please point it out to me. I can't promise that I'll go back to fix it immediately, but there's always that second draft or rewrite.

My other bad habit, if you'll indulge me for a moment, is constantly making (or at least hinting at) suggestions for musical accompaniment. "Getsemani" by Asura should set the mood quite nicely for this chapter. Some somber ambience, a bit like a film score without a film. You can probably find it on YouTube, if you are interested.

Will try to have the next chapter up soon.

Stay tuned,

-Outfoxed


	25. A Light Ever Lasting - Part 2

_Be near me when the sensuous frame  
__is rack'd with pangs that conquer trust;  
__and Time, a maniac scattering dust,  
__and Life, a Fury slinging flame._

-Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 'In Memoriam A.H.H.'  
Canto 50, second stanza

**THROUGH THE ASHES OF EMPIRES**

**CHAPTER 25  
****A LIGHT EVER LASTING**

**Part 2**

* * *

Cid threw his empty bottle aside, then picked up another one from the cooler next to him before getting up, stumbling into the middle of the crowd. "All right, settle down, people," he said, waiting for the others to quiet down before continuing. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, raising his bottle in the air. "I think it's time we proposed a toast."

"To what?" Tifa asked.

"Kicking ass, what else?" Cid replied.

His comment garnered laughter from the rest of the group, but they, too, raised their glasses in turn.

"Here's to kicking ass," Cid said. "May we kick lots more before the end."

Everyone on the beach, Cetra and Avalancher alike, joined Cid in his toast, giving a loud cheer before downing the last of their drinks.

* * *

A few hours into the night, the mood and guests alike were more sober, and the celebrations were winding down. The music had stopped, and the Highwind's supplies of food and alcohol were all but depleted. A good number of the Cetra youth lay about the beach, asleep or exhausted. The different Avalanche members, likewise, were close to nodding off, or slowly peeling back to their own rooms.

Cloud sat by the fire, still blazing in the cool night, watching as the embers tossed off by the slow conflagration drifted out towards the sea. Yuffie had left the party a little earlier, heading back to her quarters, claiming she was tired from the day's fight. She bade him good night with a parting kiss, before returning to the airship. He had remained on the beach a little longer, enjoying a moment of idleness after untold days of struggle.

Despite the vestiges of adrenaline still coursing through his veins, he could feel fatigue starting to get the better of him. He got up, heading back to the Highwind. He hadn't gotten much rest lately, and what few hours of sleep he could get would be vital for the days still ahead. He walked past the few revelers who were still awake, climbing the airship's loading ramp, making his way through the cargo bay and into the ship's central hub. Before he could reach his quarters, however, Cid and Vincent came up next to him, drawing him aside.

"Listen..." Cid said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "We need to talk."

"About what?" Cloud asked.

"What to do next," Vincent said, crossing his arms and leaning against the bulkhead. "Guerilla tactics and interdiction are all well and good, but we still need a real plan of attack."

"..I'm still working on that," Cloud said.

"Work fast," Cid said. "We ain't got much time."

"He's right," Vincent said. "Who knows what Comus and his emissaries are up to."

"It won't matter for much longer," Cloud said. "We'll take the fight to them soon enough."

"True," Vincent said. "But it's doubtful that they'll just let us walk in through the front door this time."

"How are we doing on preparations?" Cloud asked.

"The ground forces are just about ready," Cid said. "And we've salvaged quite a few vehicles and small arms that we can use. I'll have the latest scout reports the day after tomorrow. We can lay our plans for attack then."

"All right," Cloud replied.

"As for me, I'm gonna hit the hay," Cid said. So saying, the captain wandered off to bed. Cloud and Vincent watched as he left, before resuming their conversation.

"In the meantime, it's best we don't push ourselves too hard. We all have our limits," Vincent said, turning back to Cloud. "Even you," he added, giving him a stern look, before departing.

Cloud remained silent, even though he had half a mind to tell Vincent to mind his own business. Ever since his little stunt in the med-bay, the gunman had been watching him closely, though for signs of what, he wasn't certain. Under normal circumstances, such scrutiny would have irritated him, but what worried him most right now was the possibility that Vincent might be right, after all. Reawakened, the Jenova cells afforded him great power, perhaps even on par with that of their new nemesis... but what was he giving up in return?

* * *

Vincent crossed the airship's hub, heading out onto the observation deck on the floor above. As he stepped out onto the deck, he realized he was not alone. At the edge of the observation deck, he could see Tifa leaning over the railings, taking in the view of the city. He walked over, leaning over the railings next to her, and they both looked out over the horizon, neither of them saying anything for a moment.

It was one of those rare nights when the planet's twin moons could be seen suspended together above the forlorn city. Vincent glanced over at Tifa, studying the way her graceful figure was bathed in the cold moonlight as she gazed up at the starlit sky. Not wanting to be caught staring, however, he turned his attention back to the cityscape below.

"It's quite a view," he said.

"Yeah... it is," Tifa replied, casting her gaze downwards. She held a glass of wine in one hand, containing Cid's approximation of the beverage in question. She raised the glass to her lips, sipping the last of its contents before letting it fall to the ground below. They were too high up to hear it crash down on the ground, but they watched as it shattered against the rocks below.

"So much for cleaning up the streets," Vincent remarked.

Tifa gave a half-hearted chuckle in response. "I think we've got bigger problems than a few broken glasses," she said.

"True," Vincent replied.

She gave a slight shiver as the cold wind brushed against her skin. The wistful look on her face told him that something was weighing on her mind. Had been for some time, as far as he could tell, though he did not want to pry or force it out of her. He figured that she would let him know in due time.

"We shouldn't stay out here too long," Vincent said. "We'll catch our deaths of cold."

"Don't tell me..." Tifa said. "'There's a storm coming'."

Vincent shook his head. "The storm's here," he said. "If we can't see it now, it's because we're caught dead in its centre."

"Yeah..." Tifa replied. "Feels like it's all coming to a head, doesn't it?"

She remained still for a moment, gazing out into the city below, without saying anything else. Despite his reluctance to do so, Vincent decided that now was the time to address her concerns. After tonight, there would be few opportunities for any of them to discuss such matters.

"What's troubling you?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I was thinking about Nibelheim," Tifa said. "About what happened there, seven years ago."

"The fire," Vincent replied.

"What Sephiroth did that day..." Tifa continued, "when he took Cloud's mother... my father... all the other villagers. Cut them down like animals. He butchered them all, and he did it with a smile on his face. And I kept thinking... 'How could someone do something like that?'"

She shook her head, sighing. "But what we've seen here these past few days... it's got me thinking something else. Maybe he was a good man once. What was it about him that changed?"

"I couldn't tell you," Vincent said. "Sephiroth was exceptional. A prodigy. Even so, there was always something about him that was... defective. He paid the price for his gifts, yes, but as for what pushed him over the brink, I'm afraid I couldn't say."

He pushed himself away from the railing, pacing the deck as he spoke. "This conflict... it changes us. Taints us. We did not choose to be a part of it. But our roles are set. The battle lines are drawn. Now, we must play our parts."

"But what if it's not enough?" Tifa replied.

"You're worried that we'll fail?" Vincent asked.

"I'm not afraid of what will happen if we lose," Tifa said. "I'm terrified of what might happen if we win."

Vincent turned to look at her again. Although she said 'we', he could tell that she had one specific person in mind.

"You're afraid the same thing will happen to Cloud," Vincent replied. "That he'll become another Sephiroth. Is that it?"

"Is it Jenova?" Tifa asked. "Or something else? What if he ends up the same way? What if we can't cure him?"

She thought of her childhood friend, and what he had been forcing himself through these past few weeks. He put on his bravest face for everyone else's sake, but she knew the truth. They all did. Whatever it was inside of him that his encounter with Comus had awakened, it was killing him, even as it granted him the strength to overcome their adversary. The only question was which would succumb first.

"I'm afraid I don't have any answers," Vincent said. "This is terra incognita for us all. Perhaps you are right to be worried. But I believe he possesses better judgement than his former hero did. At least, I hope so, for his sake."

Vincent continued to pace the deck as he spoke, looking over at Tifa from time to time. She did not seem comforted by his words in the least. Despite his attempt to assuage her fears, she remained silent, unable or unwilling to look him in the eye.

"It is a bleak shore that we are caught on," Vincent said. "But as long as there is a light to guide him back home.."

"A light?" Tifa asked, still not turning to face him.

Vincent shook his head. A selfish thought crossed his mind, and not for the first time. Perhaps she was still yearning for something more than friendship where Cloud was concerned. Perhaps it had always been so.

"If my presence troubles you.." Vincent said, turning to leave.

"No," Tifa said, catching his arm as he turned away. "Don't go."

She drew him close, and he took her into his arms, enveloping her in the warmth beneath his tattered cloak.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

"I know," Vincent said, drawing her closer. "I would be lying if I said I'm not."

She looked up at him, eyes burning with fresh tears. "Stay with me."

"Always," Vincent said, kissing the top of her head. They remained still for a long moment, exchanging no further words. There was no need. They each knew what the other wanted to say.

Vincent looked down at Tifa, gently brushing his hand against her cheek. There was a rare smile on his features, one that put her at ease, despite all her concerns. He remembered something. One thing that just might make a difference..

"Come with me," he said, leading her back inside the ship. "I want to show you something."

* * *

Cloud lay awake in bed, staring up at the metal ceiling of his tiny room. It was getting to be one more night that he could not sleep. He felt fatigued, exhausted, even, yet he remained too restless to find any repose.

As he lay awake in the dark, he couldn't help but think of Vincent's warning. If they were going to take down Comus, he would have to cut loose. That much he knew. There could be no holding back during the final battle. That meant using his newfound abilities in whatever ways the situation demanded, even though he could sense that he was not yet in full control of them. Losing the battle was one thing, but there was something that worried him even more. The thought of losing control altogether.

Putting these thoughts out of his mind for the time being, he returned to his futile attempts to find rest, but sleep would not come to him. After an hour or so, he gave up on sleep entirely and got up, heading back outside.

He paced the shadowed beach illumined by the funeral pyre's flickering light. Every room that he had passed on his way outside seemed to be empty, he noticed. Evidently, his friends were all as restless as he was. Though they were all exhausted from the weeks of training and preparation leading up to the present, none of them could sleep tonight. There was something about this night. They could all sense it. It was the last moment of downtime any of them would find before the end. The calm before the storm. A brief period during which there was just a little too much time for self-reflection and reminiscence. A remembrance of all the sacrifices they'd had to make to get here.

As he watched the bonfire raging in the dusk, he thought he could perceive the faces of fallen friends in its eerie light, faint apparitions flitting before his eyes in the flame, the same figures that had been with him throughout the haunted night.

He turned away from the fire, heading inside the old palace, ascending one flight of steps after another. Though he did not know where he was headed, he felt an urge to climb further and further up. To find the highest ground that he could. As he climbed the stairs, however, a flash of blinding pain shot through his body. He clutched his arm, leaning against the wall for support, struggling to breathe as he waited for the seizure to pass. His vision became blurry, and something caught in his throat. More blood and bile, rising to the surface. He held his hand up to his mouth, forcing the surge back down, then focused on his breathing again.

These episodes were becoming more frequent, though they were not as paralyzing as the initial one. A few minutes later, having recovered from his convulsions, he steadied himself, continuing his ascent, stepping out into the cool night air as he reached the apex of the ruined palace.

As he walked out onto the palace's roof, he realized that he was not the only one who had decided to visit this place tonight. Yuffie sat at the far end of the rooftop, her legs swinging over its edge as she looked out over the sweeping vista before them.

"Hey," she said as he approached, without turning to face him.

"Hey," Cloud replied, sitting down next to her. "Didn't expect to find you up here."

"I was about to say the same thing," Yuffie said, looking over at him. "Can't sleep?"

Cloud shook his head, looking out at the horizon. "So... what brings you out here, your highness?" he asked, turning back to his companion.

"I always head for high ground when there's something on my mind," Yuffie explained. "Call it a force of habit. When I was little, I used to climb up the Da Chao all the time, even though it was forbidden. Hell, probably _because_ it was forbidden."

She shook her head, giving a slight chuckle as she looked down onto the ground below. "My father would scold me for hours on end when he found out. Gave me endless lectures about how it was inappropriate behaviour for royalty, and how it was against tradition, and so on. He always felt the need to go by tradition, no matter what."

"And you didn't," Cloud said.

"Why do you think I ran away from home?" Yuffie replied, shrugging. She drew her knees up underneath her chin, shivering ever so slightly in the chill of the night. "After the war... after seeing what Wutai was becoming... I simply packed my things one night and left. Crossed the ocean while stowed away on a cargo ship. Was sea-sick nearly the whole trip. After that, I lived out in the woods for a while, getting by with what little I could steal from total strangers.."

She trailed off, looking up at Cloud again. "And then I met you."

"It all seems like a long time ago," Cloud said.

"Yeah... it does," Yuffie replied.

Although it had only been two years since their first encounter, it had been a tumultuous period in both their lives. Even so, those days seemed almost carefree compared to what they now faced.

"Listen..." Yuffie said. "If we don't make it.."

"We'll make it, I pr-"

She held her hand up, stopping Cloud mid-sentence. She didn't want false reassurances. Right now, all she wanted was the truth. She knew that their chances of survival, let alone success, were slim. Waiting for them on the other side were horrors such as none of them had faced before. An empire of the undead, commanded by the husk of a long-dead tyrant whose form was kept animated and in forced march only by the impetus of its living death, Jenova. And who knew what else they might find once they crossed the final threshold?

"Please, Cloud, I'm not looking for comfort," she said. "I just wanted you to know... if we don't make it..."

She paused, taking his hand before continuing. "Despite everything we've been through, the days we've spent together... they've been the best time of my life. All these moments we've shared, I wouldn't trade them for the world."

Cloud said nothing, but drew her closer to him. She leaned against him, sitting in his lap, feeling perfectly at ease for once in her life as they looked out over the city together.

"So... what do you think our chances are?" she asked, breaking the silence once more. "Do you really think we can win this?"

"Well... we've made it this far," Cloud said.

"Top of the world, huh?" Yuffie replied, looking up at him.

"You've got to admit, it's a hell of a view," Cloud said.

Yuffie smiled. "That it is," she replied, turning to him again, leaning in closer. They shared a kiss there and then, the longest of any they had shared since admitting their feelings for one another.

"We should probably get some sleep," Cloud said, as they broke off.

"I don't think I can sleep tonight," Yuffie said.

"Yeah... I don't think any of us can," Cloud said, getting up. "So, your highness... would you care to take a walk?"

"I'd love to take a walk," Yuffie said, letting him pull her up to her feet.

A mischievous smile crossed Cloud's features. "What do you say I do the walking for both of us?" he said, sweeping her up off her feet, carrying her in his arms as he headed back down the stairs.

"Hey, put me down!" Yuffie said, giggling.

"Not until you say the magic word," Cloud replied.

"Put me down _now_, you big jerk!" she shouted, hitting his arm in a soft, playful manner. She pouted, but could only sustain her look of disapproval for a brief moment before she started giggling once more.

"Nope," Cloud replied, grinning. "Try again."

She struggled against his hold, though not in any serious manner, her laughter echoing throughout the empty palace as he carried her back outside.


	26. A Light Ever Lasting - Part 3

_Be near me when my faith is dry,  
__and men the flies of latter spring,  
__that lay their eggs, and sting and sing  
__and weave their petty cells and die._

-Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 'In Memoriam A.H.H.'  
_Canto 50, third stanza_

**THROUGH THE ASHES OF EMPIRES**

**CHAPTER 26  
****A LIGHT EVER LASTING**

**Part 3**

* * *

Nanaki sat at the edge of the waters, watching the waves lapping the beach in the pitch-black night. His ears pricked up as he heard someone walking towards him, but he relaxed again once he realized who it was.

"Red," Barret greeted the crimson beast as he sat down on the beach next to him.

"Barret," Nanaki replied.

Neither of them spoke for a moment. The two of them simply sat in silence, watching the embers from the funeral pyre drift out out towards the sea, disappearing into the dusk of the night.

"What's on your mind, man?" Barret asked, breaking the silence.

"Grandfather," Nanaki replied.

Unlike the first time they had spoken, Barret was not tempted to laugh. Instead, he waited for Nanaki to go on. He appeared to be in deep thought, and for once, Barret found himself honestly curious about what he was thinking.

"Well, grandfather's words, to be precise," Nanaki continued. "You know how we sometimes ask ourselves whether we'd be better off without technology?"

"Yeah?" Barret prompted.

"We can't live completely without technology, of course," Nanaki said. "We certainly can't uninvent it. But we can't sacrifice nature on its altar, either."

"True enough," Barret said.

"So, I've been thinking," Nanaki said. "About the demise of the Cetra. They were defeated because they abhorred technology. And the Astra allowed themselves to be destroyed because they were addicted to it. Because they could no longer control their own creation. It makes me wonder... where do we fall between the two extremes? How do we ensure that we don't fall victim to the same fate that they did?"

"Hell if I know," Barret said. "All I know is, it's going to be a goddamn miracle if we survive all of this."

"What are you thinking of?" Nanaki asked.

"Marlene," Barret replied.

"Of course," Nanaki said. "Don't worry. You'll see her again soon. Once we've dealt with Comus, we can focus on finding a way back home."

"Yeah.." Barret said, looking down on the ground.

"Something else on your mind?" Nanaki asked, sensing his friend's troubled state.

"A lot of things," Barret said. "Well... a lot of people, more like. We've come far, sure, but we've lost a lot of good people along the way, you know?"

"You mean Zack and Aerith?" Nanaki asked.

"Yeah," Barret replied. "Others, too. Biggs, Wedge, Jessie..."

He stared out at the dark blue ocean before them, closing his eyes for a moment, remembering the fallen, then opened them again as he counted the dead that they had left in the wake of their journeys. "Dyne. Eleanor. Myrna.."

"A lot of good friends," Nanaki said.

"Just seems like the fight ain't never gonna be over," Barret said. "They all gave their lives to it, and for what?"

"We're near the end now," Nanaki said. "It's just hard to see it from where we stand."

"You think the kid'll see us through?" Barret asked, turning to face Nanaki again.

"I'd stake my life on it," Nanaki replied, looking out upon the ocean once more.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Yuffie asked.

She and Cloud walked down the beach, hand in hand, passing by the still-blazing fire built earlier that day by their new friends. What libations remained from the ship's stores were still flowing among the few Cetra who were left awake, though most had by now returned home for the night.

"It's a secret," Cloud replied.

"Getting all cloak-and-dagger on me now, are you?" Yuffie asked.

"I thought you wouldn't mind, what with being a ninja and all," Cloud said, the hint of a mischievous smile crossing his features for a brief moment. Yuffie could swear that some of her personality was rubbing off on him. Not that she minded. Even though it was an unexpected change, it was better than the taciturn and gloomy figure that he had slowly been turning into ever since their first adventure.

"So, you think you've got me all figured out, huh?" she asked, in a similar tone of glibness.

"Sure," Cloud said. "You like materia, long walks on the beach and messed-up army dropouts like me."

Yuffie giggled. "Well... that's _mostly_ true," she said, latching onto his arm, leaning her head against his shoulder as they marched on across the pale sands.

As they walked by the blaze, the embers drifting through the dusk rekindled and stirred the ghosts of old memories, inscribing them in the hazy air through which they passed.

* * *

_The ground was rocked yet again with tremors, another aftershock from the explosion. The reactor's chimney could be seen burning in the night sky, not far from where he stood. At the far side of the alley, a girl lay against the wall, wincing and rubbing the back of her head. She had been knocked down to the ground by a group of panicked youths, scrambling in every which direction in order to avoid any further disasters which might follow in the aftermath of the attack._

_Cloud stopped in the alleyway for a moment, spotting the girl in the pink dress. He was already running late for his train, but there was something about her which made him pause and take notice._

_"Are you okay?" he asked, walking over, offering his hand._

_"Yes," she replied, letting him help her back to her feet, "I'm all right."_

_Dust particles and sparks from the reactor, still smouldering in the distance, filtered through the air, mingling with the light from the cracked neon signs behind her, creating a kind of halo around her for the briefest of moments. Cloud paused again, stunned by the breathtaking, though fleeting, image. As she dusted herself off, he noticed something lying on the ground next to them. A woven basket lying in the gutter, with something red and yellow spilling out at its edges. He reached down to pick up the basket, sweeping its contents back inside as he did._

_'Flowers?' Cloud thought. 'You don't see many of these around here.'_

_"Are these yours?" he asked, turning back to the girl._

_"Oh, yes... thank you," the girl said, accepting the humble basket. "Would you like one?" she asked, noting the way he was examining its contents. "They're only a gil.."_

_Normally, he would have departed by now, but there was something so honest, so different about the girl's countenance, that he could not help but stay a moment longer. 'Well... why not?' he thought, fishing a coin from his pocket._

_"Thank you," the girl said, offering him a bright smile. She dug into her basket, picking out a flower for him. "Here you go," she said, handing him a single, red tulip._

_"Well, I think I'd better get back home," the girl said. "Take care."_

_Cloud stood by in the alleyway for a moment, examining his new acquisition, before slipping it into his pocket. As he did, he could hear her footfalls echoing in the distance. He turned to ask the girl her name, but she was already gone._

* * *

Yuffie walked some distance behind Cloud, as he led her down the beach towards the far end of the old palace. She shivered again, as another cold gust of wind blew past them. The night was growing darker still, making it hard to see as they walked further and further away from the blaze, and she could see storm clouds gathering in the sky.

"It was getting a little crowded back there," Cloud said. "I thought we should find someplace more private. Just for the two of us."

He motioned her over to a small crevice in the masonry that formed the palace's foundations. Next to it, there was a small lean-to made from canvas sheets drawn over a set of thin steel pylons, forming an awning under which they could seek shelter.

She peered into the hollow set in the palace's foundations, revealing a tunnel leading further inside, most likely forming an entrance to the catacombs underneath. The tunnel had collapsed in on itself some time ago, it seemed, meaning that there was no possibility of anyone entering or exiting the edifice from there, which came as a relief to her.

Underneath the shelter, there were blankets, pillows and a container filled with consumables, some of which were rotted away, but most of which were not only edible, but well preserved at that.

"I wonder who built all of this?" Yuffie asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Cloud said, examining one of the pylons, noting the ad-hoc construction's pristine condition. "This was put together fairly recently. Couple of months old, at most. Doesn't look like it's been used for a while, though."

"Guess they won't mind if we borrow it, then," Yuffie said, sifting through the mound of blankets and pillows.

"You hungry?" Cloud asked.

"Starving," Yuffie replied.

Cloud walked over to the container, removing some of the foodstuffs preserved there in the ice, along with a skillet with which they could cook them, while she knelt down over the makeshift stove, using a piece of flint to get a small fire started.

* * *

_Potato peeling duty again. It was as mundane a task at they came, and it looked as though it would be hours before he was finished._

_Cloud sat atop a mountain of the things, wondering what he had done to set the staff sergeant off this time. Not that it mattered much. The chore had been assigned, and the sooner he was finished here, he figured, the sooner he could get some sleep. He sighed, throwing one potato behind him, onto the much smaller mound of peeled ones, and was about to reach down to pick up the next one when the door swung open, and a fellow soldier walked into the room._

_The other soldier appeared to be a couple of years older than he was, and wore a uniform indicating a more advanced rank. Not that rank mattered much in here. As of right now, they were just two fellow sufferer's of the sergeant's wrath._

_"You too, huh?" the other soldier said, taking a seat next to him. He got a small knife out of his pocket, and started slicing the skin off one of the potatoes. "So, what are you in here for?" he asked as he finished one potato and picked up the next one._

_Cloud shrugged. "Beats me."_

_"Yeah, well... don't sweat it," the other soldier said. "The staff sergeant here is kind of famous for his hair-trigger temper. Could have been anything, really."_

_"How about you?" Cloud asked._

_"Let's just say I, uh... overslept," the other soldier replied._

_There was a brief silence before either of them spoke up again._

_"So... why'd you sign up for the madhouse?" the older soldier asked, looking over at Cloud. "You don't seem like the king-and-country type."_

_"Well.." Cloud said, pausing, wondering how much he should be confiding in a stranger. His new acquaintance seemed trustworthy enough, however, and seeing as he was now a million miles from home, he figured some small talk couldn't hurt. "There's this girl back home.." he started._

_Before he could get any further, the other soldier cracked up, giving him a heavy pat on the back in the process. "Ha! I knew it," he said, grinning. "It's always a girl."_

_He got up off the mountain of potatoes, smoothing down the creases of his shirt. "Well, I can't say I blame you," he said, sticking his chest out, assuming a mock confident posture. "The ladies do love a man in uniform."_

_Despite his sullen mood, Cloud let out a a small chuckle at his companion's feigned arrogance. "I guess," he replied._

_"Trust me," the other soldier said. "Once you earn your stripes, you'll be swimming in jugs."_

_"Right," Cloud said, picking up yet another potato. "Just got to get through these first."_

_"No worries. We'll be done here before you know it," the other soldier said, sitting down next to him again, resuming his chores. "The name's Zack, by the way," he added, offering his hand. "Zack Fair."_

_Although he was still hesitant to place his trust in strangers, his new acquaintance's friendly demeanour made it all but impossible for him to decline. He reached up and shook the other soldier's hand. "Cloud Strife," he replied._

_Zack let out a long, low whistle. "That's a hell of a name."_

_Cloud shrugged again. "So they tell me."_

_"So, where are ya from, Mr. Strife?" Zack asked._

_"This town called Nibelheim," Cloud said. "I doubt you've heard of it."_

_Zack shook his head. "Can't say that I have."_

_"How about you?" Cloud asked._

_"This little podunk village down south," Zack said. "Gongaga?"_

_"Doesn't ring any bells," Cloud replied._

_"Naw, I didn't think so," Zack said. "Probably the reason I left. I was just going stir crazy there, I'm telling you. Not much to do out there except watch the chocobos mate."_

_Cloud glanced at his newfound friend, giving him an odd look._

_"Uh... not that I spend a whole lot of time doing that, mind you," Zack added. "Well, you know what I mean.."_

_There was a brief, awkward silence. Then, they both burst out laughing._

_"By the way, I'm heading into town later on to meet with some friends, if you feel like coming with," Zack offered. "Sound good?"_

_"Sure," Cloud said._

_"All right," Zack said, grinning again. "Well, what say we get through these, first?" he added, holding up one of the countless potatoes they had left._

_They continued with their work for a while. It was still drudgery, but the company made it much easier to bear._

_Despite his disinclination to engage in socializing, Cloud found himself hanging out with Zack more and more as the days went by. In fact, in all the time that he had spent with Shinra thus far, Zack was the only real friend that he had made. Zack seemed to be everything that he was not, and in some ways, everything that he secretly wanted to be: easy-going, charming, a hit (and sometimes miss) with the ladies, and what was more, he was climbing the ranks of Shinra's armed forces with ease. In terms of personality, they were night and day, but despite this, they became inseparable. Zack knew how to nudge him out of his apathy, and his own somber mood, conversely, kept Zack from getting too reckless or carried away._

_From their first meeting onwards, they were as close as brothers, until the day they were called in for a routine mission. A routine mission to a small town called Nibelheim._

_And then, everything changed._

* * *

"Here we are," Vincent said.

Tifa looked upon the array of statues lining the wide plinth in the centre of the concourse, depicting children assuming the forms of angels, running, playing, frolicking, without the slightest care in the world. Some of the statues showed signs of damage wrought by age, as did the rest of the monuments in this place, yet they seemed far better preserved than most of those left standing in the old palace.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" she asked.

"Yes... and no," Vincent said, crossing his arms. "Note the inscription," he added, indicating the writing hewn into the plinth.

"What does it say?" Tifa asked.

"'We shall all be dust in a thousand years'," Vincent read. "'And nothing we have done, said, or created shall remain. Such is our fate. The stars, passionless in the unending night, and the oceans, waiting to reclaim all we have built, will carry no recollection of our lives, observing our struggles without knowing or understanding. They shall outlast us all, but even stars die and fade away, and oceans have no memory'."

Tifa frowned as she examined the monument's base. She was still not well acquainted with the Cetra language, and though Vincent seemed to have translated most of the inscription faithfully, there seemed to be more that he had left out.

"The architect of these monuments was given to sublunary meditations, it would seem," Vincent added.

"Why are you showing me this?" Tifa asked. The aphorism which he had just recited was about the last thing she needed to hear right now. The notion that none of what they did or what they would do in the days to come would ultimately matter or make a difference was enervating, and she was puzzled as to why he felt the need to draw attention to it, now of all times.

"Note the inscription underneath," Vincent said.

Tifa bent down, examining the smaller inscription carved underneath the larger one. "I can't read it," she replied.

"'But let not these thoughts weigh upon your mind'," Vincent read. "'All things pass and perish. So be it. It is the way of things. Ere long, the lights in the sky shall die out, as will every thing they ever shone upon. But take heart. Even in the blackest of nights, a love that is strong and the bonds of friendships true may yet form a light ever lasting'."

Tifa said nothing, remaining still by the monument for a moment.

"Forgive my affectation," Vincent said, drawing closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's an insipid sentiment, I know, but.."

"No," Tifa said, gazing upon the statues again. "It's beautiful."

"You think so?" Vincent asked.

"It means all our struggles haven't been in vain," Tifa said.

"Do you believe our struggle means something?" Vincent asked.

"We'll _make_ it mean something," Tifa said, taking his hand. "We'll make it all count. Every last thing we've lost."

Vincent smiled, glad that she understood.

"That we will."


	27. A Light Ever Lasting - Part 4

_Be near me when I fade away,  
__to point the term of human strife,  
__and on the low, dark verge of life  
__the twilight of eternal day._

-Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 'In Memoriam A.H.H.'  
_Canto 50, final stanza_

**THROUGH THE ASHES OF EMPIRES**

**CHAPTER 27  
****A LIGHT EVER LASTING**

**Part 4**

* * *

The skies came roaring into life with a series of thunderclaps, drawing ever closer as Yuffie and Cloud retraced their steps back to the funeral pyre in the distance. Having enjoyed a pleasant meal using what sparse means they had available at their little shelter, they were headed back to the Highwind to catch a few hours' sleep before the morning broke.

It had been a welcome change from the past few weeks' toil, spending a moment of repose in each other's company, away from the commotion of the rest of the group. They had been tempted to stay longer, but as the weather only seemed to be growing worse at the night drew on, they had deemed it best to head back for the time being. Packing away what remained of their food supplies, they had set off again, but now it was starting to seem that they would be too late to avoid the coming storm. The first drops of rain were already touching down on the sand, and it was becoming clear that they would not reach their destination before being deluged by the rain. Seeing that there was no chance of reaching the other side of the shore before being overtaken by the storm, they decided instead to retreat to the safety of their shelter once more.

They hurried back to the shelter, breaking into a run in order to avoid the worst of the freezing rain, only to find that a strong gust had torn the sheet halfway from the canopy, leaving it flapping in the cold wind. They did their best to fasten the sheet and repair the canopy, tethering its corners to a more secure position, but the damage was already done. The tear wrought by the wind had allowed the downpour through long enough to soak up the kindling, leaving it, as well as themselves, dripping wet in the cold night. The fire had been extinguished, and it was unlikely that they could get another one going with the heavy rain and the wind. Cloud shook his head, standing up again, throwing the flint on the ground next to the wet ashes, whose sputtering remains still generated a thin trail of smoke in spite of the damp air.

"Well... so much for keeping warm," he said, sighing, looking over the drenched campfire.

As he rose up, he felt Yuffie's hand on his arm. "I can think of another way," she said. She spun him around, then drew him in closer for a kiss.

Cloud smiled as they broke off. "Do tell," he replied, leaning in for a second kiss.

* * *

"..Wait here."

Tifa led Vincent back inside the regal bedchamber at the top of the palace, then sat him down on the bed in its centre, before disappearing behind one of the folding screens. For a moment, all that could be seen of her was her silhouette being projected against the thin paper frames as she undressed, before emerging again, clad in a silk night-robe.

"Well... what do you think?" she asked, looking over at Vincent.

"You know," Vincent said, "if I didn't know better, I might suspect that you're trying to seduce me."

"Who? Me?" Tifa replied with a coy smile, feigning innocence. "Would I do something like that?"

"I think you might have it in you, yes, Miss Lockheart," Vincent said, getting up, walking over to where she stood by the window.

"Mr. Valentine," Tifa replied, reaching up to give him a kiss as he approached her.

"What say we forget our troubles for a few moments?" Vincent said, brushing his hand against her cheek.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Tifa said. She pushed past him, letting her night-robe fall to the floor, glancing over her shoulder as she did, beckoning, teasing him as she guided him back to the bed.

"Come on," she said. "Let's make this a night to remember.."

* * *

Lightning and the distant rumble of thunder tore through the encroaching darkness, the wind whipped at their clothes, and the torrential rain continued to inundate the beach all around them, but they were by now oblivious to the heavens' wrath. All they could sense was each other.

Cloud pressed another kiss against Yuffie's lips as he cupped her face in his hands, brushing his fingers through her short locks, dripping wet with the rain. She held her hands against the back of his head, pulling him closer still, sighing with satisfaction at the myriad sensations and the heat generated by their movements. Despite the freezing cold, she felt as though she were burning up.

He reached down, removing her grey jacket, then pulled her camisole shirt over the top of her head. She reciprocated by pulling down the zipper of his navy blue sweater, discarding it to the ground. They did all of this without breaking stride, indulging in a succession of kisses, each more passionate and intense than the last, as they continued to peel each other's clothes off in the pouring rain, leaving them in a pile on the sand.

Soon they were but two indistinct figures, shadows moving through the cool blue of the night, their movements growing more frantic, more urgent as they continued to push against each other. Theirs was not an act of of mere desire, but one of necessity, the fulfilling of a hunger for something which they both realized had long been missing. And so, they allowed themselves to lose control, giving themselves over to the moment as their bodies melded together.

He staggered back as she pushed forward, letting out a slight grunt as they hit the far wall, nearly tripping over their stack of supplies as they moved up against the stone edifice, which afforded them some shelter from the worst of the storm. She let up her advance, allowing him to take control as they half-fell, half-slid to the ground below.

No longer in their minds were the numberless accidents and events which had brought them here, only the moment that they now shared. There were no more names or identities. Just him and her. He and she. Two free souls, unfettered by the petty concerns of the world around them. All else was washed away, lost in the rainfall.

* * *

What were they, then?

An idealistic youth, heading out into the world in the hopes of a proud record of military service, followed by a triumphant return home, only to be met with a world half-empty, encircled by madmen and run by charlatans and fools. The daughter of a once-proud empire, reduced to thieving and foraging in the wilderness, left without so much as a single ally to call upon in her time of need.

Was that all? Two messed-up children thrown together by the vicissitudes of fate?

No.

* * *

Yes.

It was decided, then. Their struggle would continue, if only out of a refusal to let their accumulated sacrifices and efforts be in vain. To do any less would be to cast aside everything they stood for.

Tifa walked out onto the balcony, looking out over the city. The rain had subsided at last, giving her the opportunity to study the sprawling ruins from her high vantage point once more. Vincent moved up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Neither of them said anything, for fear of sabotaging the moment with foolish prattle. There was no need for either of them to speak. They each knew what the other wanted to say.

Ravaged though the scenery was, there was an eerie kind of beauty to it. Some of the Cetra from the underground city, they knew, were dwelling on the surface again, helping the planet to regain some of its former lustre. There was a real change coming over the place. There was hope for the future yet.

They had reclaimed one world. Now it was time for the other.

* * *

The sun shone upon two naked forms lying on the beach, enfolded in each other's embrace. A gilded dawn on the horizon stirred them from their sleep, which they awoke from with reluctance. Despite the night's heavy rainfall, the morning greeted them with a warm breeze, the sultry temperature not unlike that of tropical climes.

Cloud raised himself up to one side, caressing Yuffie's cheek as her eyes fluttered open. "Good morning, your highness," he said, smiling at her.

"I told you not to call me that," she replied with an impish smile, pressing a finger against his lips.

"I know," Cloud replied, gently pushing her hand aside. "I wasn't paying attention," he added, teasing her.

She cocked her head to one side, playing along. "Well, in that case, I think you owe me an apology," she said, giving him her best look of feigned disapproval.

"Believe me," Cloud said, placing a kiss on her shoulder. "I am very.."

He paused, sidling up closer to her, placing a second kiss upon her neck, the tickling sensation causing her to giggle as he worked his way up towards her lips.

"...deeply.."

She continued to giggle uncontrollably, pushing him away in a playful manner, resisting his advances, but at the same time urging him on.

"...truly sorry," Cloud finished, giving her a long, full, luxurious kiss on the lips.

"...your highness," he added, in between kisses.

As they broke off, his smile gave way to another, more somber look on his face, as though he had recalled something unpleasant.

"What's wrong?" Yuffie asked.

"Nothing," Cloud replied, running his hand through her hair. "There's just something I need to take care of before we head back."

"..Okay," Yuffie said.

The two of them got up, and began to search for their clothes, which were still scattered all over the beach. A few moments later, they were fully dressed, and occupied with cooking a simple breakfast. They exchanged few words while they ate, feeling both rested and exhausted from the night before.

As he finished his breakfast, Cloud got up and wandered off to the shore nearby. Yuffie waited for a moment, contemplating whether to follow him or not. She considered giving him some space, but her curiosity got the better of her and, after a few minutes, she found herself trailing after him.

She found him sitting by the shore, looking out at the sun peering over the horizon. It was clear that something was weighing on his mind, though he seemed reluctant to impart what it was.

It was a moment before either of them spoke.

"It's been a hell of a ride, hasn't it?" Yuffie said.

"Yeah... it has," Cloud replied.

"What's on your mind?" Yuffie asked, sitting down next to him.

"Just something I need to do," Cloud said. "Something I should have done a long time ago.."

He said nothing further for the time being. She waited for a moment, watching the waves lapping the beach. After another moment of silence, he drew a pink ribbon from his pocket. The ribbon was tattered and matted with blood, but still recognizable as the one that had once belonged to the flower girl from the slums.

"You think she's still watching over us?" Yuffie asked, looking at the frayed ribbon as the wind swept over it, threatening to tear it from his grasp.

"Considering everything we've been through," Cloud replied. "Yeah... sometimes I get the feeling we've got a guardian angel looking out for us."

Yuffie placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on," she said. "Talk to me. What's really bothering you?"

"I've been thinking," Cloud said. "About the past. About what we're doing here. And I realized that I haven't been fair to you."

"What do you mean?" Yuffie asked.

"Remember what I said to you down in the catacombs?" Cloud asked. "About walking on her grave?"

Yuffie nodded, but said nothing.

Cloud shook his head. "I guess I've realized how foolish I've been. I've been blinded by the past for so long that I couldn't see the present. I couldn't forgive myself for what happened to her, and.."

"What happened wasn't your fault," Yuffie said, interrupting him.

"I know," Cloud said. "That's what everyone told me. What I kept telling myself. I just never could believe it."

Yuffie remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"I've been carrying this with me for a long time," Cloud said, looking at the pale ribbon. "Perhaps too long. I never wanted to let go. I never could. But maybe it's time.."

He raised his hand in the air, about to release the ribbon and let the wind carry it out to the sea, but before he could let go, Yuffie caught his arm, stopping him. "No," she said, closing her hand over his. "It's okay. Keep it."

Cloud looked at the young ninja, surprised by her reaction.

"I don't want you to let go", she said. "I want her to stay with us."

"Yuffie.."

"It's not about letting go," Yuffie said. "It's about going on, even when you think you can't."

Cloud was at a loss for words, startled to see Yuffie displaying a maturity and wisdom far beyond what he had expected from her. But the young ninja had always been full of surprises, he reminded himself.

"The light that she left with us is still here," she continued. "That was her gift to us. We can't let it go out."

So saying, she took the ribbon from his hands, tying it around his upper arm.

"What are you doing?" Cloud asked.

"Holding on," Yuffie replied, leaning in closer, pressing her lips against his.

* * *

Cid lay on the beach next to the blaze, watching as the last of its embers drifted out towards the sea. He drew out a crumpled photograph of Shera from his breast pocket, studying it for several minutes, before burning a hole into its centre with the stub of his cigarette. He took a long, slow drag from it, then discarded the stub and threw the photograph onto the fire, watching it deform in the scorching heat.

Nanaki, who had been walking past, sat down next to him, watching the captain go about his odd gesture with seeming indifference.

"You're wondering why I burned that photograph, ain't ya?" Cid asked.

"The thought had crossed my mind, yes," Nanaki replied.

"It's the only reminder I have of her, you know?" Cid said. "Not a day has gone by that I haven't found myself lookin' at it. But that just ain't enough anymore."

"I think I understand," Nanaki said.

"I never did see all of this coming," Cid said. "It's a goddamn mess, is what it is. But I'm going to see her again. I'm gonna get us all back home, even if I have to chew my way through half of Hell to get there."

"Glad to hear it," Nanaki replied.

"Well... enough yacking," Cid said, getting up and dusting himself off. "Come on. We've got work to do."

* * *

Cloud and Yuffie walked down the length of the shore, heading back to the rest of the party. They were still some distance away from the airship when she stopped, looking out towards the horizon once more. Despite the warm wind, she shivered.

"You okay?" Cloud asked.

Yuffie nodded, rubbing her arms, as if to ward off the cold. "Listen..." she said, looking up at him. "Forget what I said last night. I _do_ want you to tell me everything's going to be okay. Even if it's not true."

Cloud looked at the young ninja with a gentle expression. She had shed her mischievous veneer, leaving herself sincere and vulnerable. Her impishness, he knew, was her way of keeping the rest of the world at bay, just as aloofness was his. But it seemed that, for a brief moment at least, they could be honest with one another, without any need for pretense.

"Some day, this will all seem like a bad dream," Cloud said. "We'll stop Comus, then find our way back home. Simple as that."

"And after that?" Yuffie asked.

"After that, I guess it's back to a normal life," Cloud said.

Yuffie let out a wry laugh. "A normal life? What's that?"

Cloud shrugged. "Hell if I know."

He walked over, placing one hand on her shoulder. "But we'll figure it out together," he added. "After we get back home."

"I know we keep saying that," Yuffie replied. "We keep talking about what comes after, but... where do we stand, really? You and me, I mean."

"You know how I feel about you," Cloud said.

"...I know," Yuffie said. "But I'd like to hear it, all the same."

Cloud looked deep into her eyes, studying her face for a long moment. It was hard to believe that it had already been two, nearly three years since their first encounter in the forests outside Junon. He remembered how she had always been at odds with the rest of Avalanche, never quite fitting in with the group's disparate members. Then came her little escapade in Wutai, where she had tried to make off with everyone's equipment. Her attempt had backfired, of course, and she'd ended up having to return everything she had stolen from them, after making a series of heartfelt apologies. In spite of everyone else's protests, he had forgiven her and let her back into the group, wanting to give her one last chance to prove herself. He knew he was taking the risk of being let down by her again, but despite her betrayal, he had believed in her. And his faith had not been misplaced.

Their early relationship had been a tumultuous and unexpected one. But through their shared struggles, they had become firm friends. And now, they were something more.

He reflected upon how much she had changed, and yet, how little. She was a little older and wiser now, but still the same headstrong and irrepressible hellion he had always known, never one to let anything dampen her spirits or cause her courage to waver. At least, that was how it seemed. But these past few days, she seemed a little quieter than her usual self. There seemed to be a change coming over her, as well as the rest of the group. The war was changing all of them, in one way or another. Their halcyon days, they knew, were long past. Everything was coming to a head soon. They could all sense it. The end was drawing near, yet victory seemed farther away than ever before.

He studied her face for a moment longer, taking in her fine features. Even back when they had first met, tumbling through the grime of endless forests and deserts, her natural good looks had shone through, but in the radiant light of the infant dawn, she looked more beautiful than ever.

For the longest time, it seemed as though there was nothing left for him to do but to make the noble sacrifice, when the time came. In a way, it was what he had always desired, and how he had expected things to end. But now, it felt as though he had a real future to fight for again. Being with her gave him a reason to keep on fighting. To live, not just to survive.

"I love you," he said.

Yuffie let out a slight gasp, not quite believing that she was hearing the words. "S... say that again," she replied, looking up at him.

He brushed his hand against her cheek, smiling, peering deep into her eyes as he spoke. "I love you, Yuffie Kisaragi," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Nothing's ever going to change that."

He had never seen her look happier than she did in that brief moment. Her delight, however, soon gave way to her usual, mischievous demeanour. He couldn't help but notice the change in her smile, however subtle it was, and the way she was looking at him now.

"What?" he asked.

"You're cute when you're being serious," she replied, flicking his nose with her index finger.

Cloud chuckled. "Come on," he said, taking Yuffie's hand. "I'm sure the others are starting to wonder where we are."

"If they're even awake yet," Yuffie replied.

When they arrived back at the Highwind, they found the other Avalanche members already awake and hard at work, gathering their equipment and moving it back inside the ship. The fire had died down, leaving thick plumes of black smoke rising from its ashes. The music, too, had subsided, as if in keeping with the morning's solemn mood, although a few wistful notes being strummed on an acoustic guitar could still be heard echoing throughout the beach.

"Hey, good morning," Tifa greeted them as they returned to the group.

"'morning," Yuffie said, stretching her arms and yawning.

"Everyone rested?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah... I slept like a baby," Reeve said.

"You mean you woke up every two hours and cried?" Yuffie replied, grinning.

Reeve rolled his eyes, deciding to ignore the young ninja's quips.

"About time you two showed up," Cid said, ushering the late arrivals back inside the airship. "Grab your things and get a move on. We've got a war to win."

* * *

**Author's notes**

This has been a fairly difficult chapter for me to write, partly because it's rather maudlin and nostalgic, and partly because I keep thinking that my prose is growing tautological and repetitious as this story goes on. But there's little I can do about that, I suppose. Whether you guys agree or disagree, feedback is always appreciated. Every little bit helps.

It's been kind of a long interval, but I felt that it was necessary to have a breather in between the action-oriented chapters, especially because, starting with the next chapter, the last part of the story is pretty much going to be non-stop action, right up until the very end. No promises on when the next chapter will be out. I'd like to get it out sooner rather than later, but there are a lot of real world things clamouring for my attention right now.

The quotation at the head of this collection of chapters is, of course, lifted from Tennyson's magnum opus, 'In Memoriam, Arthur Henry Hallam'. Canto number 50 has always been one of my favourites, and as it happens to be exactly four stanzas, I decided to split this one chapter into four parts in order to continue updating the story.

Speaking of epigraphs, I do keep wondering if I'm going overboard with the damn things. If you want me to keep going with them, or if you think they're unnecessary... well, that's what that box at the bottom of the page is for.

'till next time.

**Addendum**

(If you're one of my regular readers, feel free to ignore this next part.)

I've been getting some complaints about this story appearing in the "wrong" section of this site, due to its listing of the four principal characters, Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie and Vincent. The problem is that regardless of the order in which one picks the characters, the site always lists them in alphabetical order. Compounding the problem is the fact that the mobile version of the site only displays the first two characters in one's list, despite the desktop version listing all four. The problem, then, should be obvious, and there seems to be no solution forthcoming, at least not on the technical side. Evidently, this is causing some readers a great deal of vexation. I've found a temporary fix, which is to remove Tifa from said character list. (I'd tried modifying the list earlier without much success. This site is rather slow to reflect one's changes, it would seem). I'm not happy about making this change, mind you, as she obviously plays a large role in this story. But in the absence of any other solution, it's the one thing that can be done about it for the time being.

Please note that this is the first and only time that I'm going to be addressing this kind of issue in the author's notes section. In the absence of any ability to respond to guest reviews, future missives on my part will be added to my user profile instead. If you have further concerns, please log into your account and send me a private message, so that I may address them directly. The review section is not a message board. Thanks.

-Outfoxed


	28. Spirit in Black

_Living nightmare, can't you see?  
__You really have no choice  
__Faded memories haunt you  
__Listen closely to my voice  
__Feed me all your hatred,  
__empty all your thoughts to me  
__I can fill your emptiness  
__with immortality_

_Coils of the serpent unwind  
__Buried beneath you will find  
__Deep in the halls of the damned  
__Spirit in black, till the end_

-Slayer, 'Spirit in Black'

**THROUGH THE ASHES OF EMPIRES**

**CHAPTER 28  
****SPIRIT IN BLACK**

**Part 1**

* * *

The Avalanchers walked down the length of the palace courtyard, inspecting the row of dead Jenova creatures lined up one after another on long, thick sheets of plastic. Most of them were scarcely recognizable, their bulky forms having been rendered into a pulpy, amorphous mass of black, oleaginous material by their stealthy counter-attack the day before. A few bodies here and there were still intact, however, and had been collected in order to allow them to categorize the different kinds of adversary that they faced.

"Starting an exhibit?" Vincent asked, looking over at Cid.

"Well, taxonomy it ain't," Cid replied, "but I thought we should get a closer look at what we're up against."

"Know thy enemy," Vincent remarked.

"So, what do you reckon?" Cid asked, turning to the rest of the group.

"These don't look like full-grown Jenova," Cloud said. "More like foot soldiers."

"Sounds about right," Reeve said.

"Yeah," Cid said, leading the group further down the courtyard. "We got a couple of those little poisonous bastards we fought down in the catacombs, too. Creepy fucks."

"They infect their victims with some sort of neurotoxin using needle-like nematocysts hidden just underneath the epidermis," Nanaki explained. "A single touch is deadly, and there is no known way to cure it."

"'Needlers', I suppose we might call them," Vincent suggested.

"Speaking of which, be careful not to touch any of these other creatures, either," Nanaki reminded his comrades. "These things are not really dead so much as inert, after all."

"Be sure to torch all of these when you're done," Cloud said, indicating the row of cadavers. "We can't risk a repeat of the incident aboard the Highwind."

"Agreed," Vincent said.

"This one looks different," Tifa said, pointing out the next specimen in their little collection. Its general features were the same as those of the other Jenova creatures, though it seemed broader than it was tall, with thinner, more numerous feelers arising from its centre, as well as some strange, bulbous growth protruding from the edges of its torso.

"It kind of looks like the one Cloud and I fought down in the catacombs," Yuffie said.

"It did something to our minds," Cloud added. "Played tricks on us. Tried to drain us of our willpower. Things like that."

"A 'Mirage Jenova'?" Reeve suggested.

"Yeah, something like that," Cloud replied.

"Interesting," Vincent said. "You know, the science team that Hojo used to work with reported having similar experiences."

"How so?" Cloud asked.

"Some of them reported hearing voices even when they knew there was no-one else around," Vincent said. "Seeing things that weren't there."

"Sounds familiar," Cloud said.

"Indeed," Vincent replied. "Hojo himself mentioned this while he was studying the Jenova creature that landed on our world. How it would... suggest things to him. Whisper ideas in his ear when he was in its presence."

"Creepy," Yuffie said, resisting the urge to shudder.

"But undeniably effective," Vincent said. "It seems that these creatures are capable of manipulating one into doing things, without one even knowing it. Admittedly, the influence that our visitor seems to have had on people was a bit more subtle than these ones."

"It's odd how differently they seem to behave," Nanaki said. "Presumably they all came from the same source."

"Perhaps they evolve in different ways," Vincent suggested. "And it would seem that they grow more powerful as they age."

"Like the one that landed on our planet?" Yuffie asked. "Wonder how old that thing was.."

"'Musta been ancient, that's for sure," Barred said.

"It seemed a lot more powerful than the ones we've faced over here," Cloud said.

"A special prototype, perhaps?" Vincent said.

"Whatever the hell it was," Cid said, "it must've been lost in space for centuries or even millennia before it found us."

"You think there are others out there?" Cloud asked.

"Gods, I hope not," Yuffie said. "One full-grown Jenova was more than enough trouble to deal with."

"I'm more worried about the sort of people who might see these creatures as an opportunity," Vincent said. "Take Hojo, for instance. There are certain to be other people like him out there. People for whom ethical considerations are not an issue. Imagine the damage that might be done should something like this fall into their hands."

"Well, I think we've already seen first-hand what can happen," Reeve said.

"True," Vincent replied.

"By the way," Cloud said, turning to Cid and Vincent, "did you find out what that thing was in the photograph?"

"I believe so, yes," Vincent said.

"It's an impact crater," Cid said. "That much is obvious."

"What it spells out for us is more troubling, however," Vincent said. "Nanaki, care to explain?"

"After the Cetran diaspora, and their exile to this planet, the Cetra and Astra fought their first real war against one another," Nanaki explained. "During the Astra's first attempt to invade this world, they used to fly 'seed ships' into the planet's orbit and bombard it with protective shells encased around Jenova seedlings. Then these infant Jenova would evolve and begin to attack and infect the population, creating more of these creatures in the process."

"They relied upon Jenova's viral spread to destroy their enemies," Vincent added.

"Biological warfare, in other words," Cloud said.

"Yes," Vincent replied. "I believe this latest batch of Jenova invaders arrived here by the same means."

"Does that mean they have a seed ship in orbit right now?" Cloud asked.

"That's what we thought, at first," Cid said. "But we've been scanning the skies using the Highwind's comms unit. So far, it's blank skies, as far as we can tell."

"These ships would have been quite big, and they'd have to be fairly close to the city, so if there were any around, we would have detected them by now," Vincent said. "It's almost like they came out of nowhere."

"Strange," Cloud said. "They couldn't just have appeared out of thin air."

"Yes, I rather doubt that," Vincent said. "So, there's something else going on."

"In any case, we've tightened security on the surface," Reeve said.

"We don't have a lot of manpower to spare," Cloud said.

"I know," Reeve said. "We've ordered some of our guards from the underground city to monitor the perimeter here. The gate inside the palace is the only other place where Comus could strike from, and that's under heavy guard."

"And they'd have to get through our defense perimeter on the Astra side, first," Vincent said. "So I'd say we're pretty well covered."

"All right. Good work, everyone," Cloud said. "Now, it's time we made our final preparations."

"Agreed," Vincent said.

"About that," Cid said, looking over at Cloud. "I need to show you something on the Astra side."

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

"I think it's best if you see it for yourself," Cid said. "The rest of you, keep up the good work. We're haulin' ass in a few hours, so let's get busy."

"You heard the man, people," Barret said, motioning a group of Cetra soldiers over. "Let's light'em up."

He led the group of soldiers over to the far side of the courtyard, where they set about disposing of the carcasses using a set of improvised flamethrowers, taking care not to let the blighted remains touch their skin. The rest of Avalanche watched them as they went about their work.

Cloud, Vincent noticed, seemed to be on pins and needles, grimacing as they scorched the Jenova creatures' bodies, as though sensing their pain.

"Something the matter?" he asked.

"No, I.."

Cloud paused. He shook his head, as if to ward off the sudden onset of dizziness. "It's nothing. Carry on."

"Fatigue then, perhaps," Vincent said.

"Yeah... that must be it," Cloud replied. "Just haven't been sleeping well.."

They both knew he was lying, but it seemed that they had developed a tacit agreement not to discuss the matter further for the time being.

"Cid, you said you had something to show me?" Cloud asked.

"This way," Cid said, gesturing for the others to follow him.

* * *

They headed back down into the underground city, leaving Barret and his crew to dispose of the last of the Jenova remains. Cid led the group on, towards the tunnels leading into the catacombs underneath the palace. Again, they were met with Sigil, who stood between them and the mouth of the tunnel, barring their path.

"Come to demand that we break off our assault?" Vincent asked.

Sigil shook his head. "The people have made their decision. If they wish to follow you to their deaths, I will not stand in their way."

The old man moved past them, granting them passage. "But do not mistake my quiescence for approval," he added. "Mark my words. This will not end well."

The Avalanchers watched as the old man departed. Despite his defiant stance, he seemed resigned to allowing them to do what they wanted from here on. The confrontation left Cloud feeling a little wary, however. Part of him was starting to wonder if the old man might be right, after all. What if he still knew something that they did not?

"Vincent, would you do me a favour?" he asked.

"Have a word with Sigil, you mean?" Vincent replied.

"Yeah," Cloud said. "I get the feeling that there's something he's not telling us."

"As do I," Vincent replied. "I'll see if I can't get some answers out of him."

"I'll join you," Reeve said.

"As will I," Nanaki said. "I'm curious to hear what he has to say."

"I'm heading back to the Highwind with Tifa to prep our gear," Yuffie said.

"All right," Cloud said. "I'll check out this thing Cid wanted to show me. We can meet up back inside the Highwind come nightfall to plan our attack."

The others indicated their assent to this arrangement, then wandered off to their respective destinations.

"Lead the way," Cloud said, following Cid as he entered the tunnel leading down to the catacombs.

As they walked through the tunnel, Cid would glance over at Cloud from time to time, noting the way he was sweating despite the tunnel's cool air. About halfway through the tunnel, he stopped, heaving and panting, leaning against one of the supporting pillars.

"Hey, you feelin' all right?" Cid asked. "You don't look too good.."

"I'm fine," Cloud replied, even though he seemed far from okay. If anything, he looked pale and fatigued.

"Are you sure?" Cid said.

He reached out to place a hand on his friend's shoulder, but before he could do so, Cloud batted it away. "I said I'm fine!" he growled. "Back off!"

"All right, man, take it easy," Cid said, raising his hands as he backed away again. As he did, he thought he could see a different look in his friend's eyes for a brief moment, one bearing a hint of menace that was alien to the Cloud he knew.

As he turned to face Cid again, Cloud shook his head once more to ward off the unpleasant sensation that had come over him. He wasn't sure where that sudden outburst of anger had come from. It wasn't like him at all, and he was certain that he hadn't meant to lash out like that. But there was something clutching at the edges of his mind, some other entity, whispering to him, suggesting things, draining him of his own will even as it continued to strengthen him. That something had prompted him to act in this manner, he suspected. Ever since their return to the Cetra homeworld, that presence had been growing stronger, and now it was beginning to manifest itself, not just in his usual, fleeting moments of being caught in unreality, but in engendering actions that were not of his own volition.

Before long, the sensation subsided, however, as he caught his breath, returning to his normal self, albeit still distempered and irate.

"Seriously, kid, you don't look so hot," Cid said, looking at his friend with concern. "Maybe you should go get some rest."

"Let's just get to the other side," Cloud said, heading on down the tunnel, with Cid following behind, looking more wary than before.

* * *

It was a little while before Vincent, accompanied by Nanaki and Reeve, caught up with Sigil. The leader of the Cetra was quite spry for his age, and he seemed to be going out of his way to avoid any further contact with the Avalanche members as he headed for the council chamber at the top of the underground city. He had with him several other Cetra in tow, elder statesmen and representatives of the people, charged with the task of presiding over the everyday affairs of the underground city, and ensuring the well-being of its citizens. Among them was a pale young man, who bore a noticeable resemblance to Sigil. His son, perhaps, Vincent mused.

"Sigil," Vincent said, stopping the old man just before he reached the entrance to the council chamber. "Might we have a word with you?"

"What is it?" Sigil replied. The tone of his voice indicated that he was in no mood for questioning. He gestured for the others to head inside, but paused in the entrance for a moment, waiting to hear what Vincent and his companions wanted.

"There are things I would know," Vincent said. " About Jenova, and about Comus."

"You've seen for yourselves what Jenova is," Sigil replied. "As for Comus, he is the usurper of our ancestors' legacy, and the destroyer of my people. There is nothing more for you to know about him."

"You didn't tell us about him before," Vincent replied. "Why not?"

"You insisted on going on your fool's errand," Sigil said. "I could not have dissuaded you then, and I see it would be yet more futile to try now."

"Is that all?" Nanaki asked. Sigil remained silent.

"You're holding something back," Vincent said.

"I have told you all you need to know," Sigil replied. "Now, go off and make your little war."

"Not until we get some answers," Reeve said.

"What else do you want to know?" Sigil asked, growing impatient. "I don't have all day."

"Tell me about the Astra," Vincent said. "What happened to them?"

"The Astra are no more," Sigil replied. "Now, there is only Jenova."

The three of them looked at each other, wondering what to make of the old man's cryptic remark.

"What is Jenova?" Vincent asked.

"Nothing," Sigil replied.

"Nothing?" Reeve asked.

"Nothingness, to put it more accurately," Sigil replied. "It is a living death. An organism bred to kill other organisms, by whatever means necessary. It replicates, infects, and destroys. That is its only purpose."

"But where did it come from?" Vincent asked. "Was it the Astra's idea to create Jenova? Or did it come from somewhere else?"

Sigil shook his head. "What does it matter? We need only concern ourselves with the present situation. What Jenova's origin was is irrelevant."

"'Ex nihilo nihil fit'," Vincent replied. "You owe us an explanation, at the very least. We need to know what we're up against."

"I don't see that I owe you anything," Sigil replied. "You've seen enough. Knowing more about your enemy won't help you defeat him."

"Even so, the information might have helped us," Nanaki pointed out. "We barely made it out alive last time, and I think it would be a grave understatement to say that we're not eager to repeat that experience any time soon."

"He's right," Reeve said. "We wouldn't have gotten into the trouble we did if you had been honest with us the first time. We might have been prepared."

"We're heading out again tomorrow," Vincent said. "That's when the real fight begins. If there's something you're not telling us.."

"What more is there to tell?" Sigil asked. "You've seen what lies on the other side. What I fail to understand is why you're so eager to return there. There is nothing out there but death and decay."

"And the people Comus has taken prisoner," Nanaki replied. "Should we abandon them to their fate?"

"You do not understand," Sigil said.

"Then help us to understand," Reeve said. "Why are you so afraid of Comus? What makes you think he's unstoppable?"

Sigil shook his head, sighing. "I cannot hope to show you the reality of the situation. You tangle with forces much greater than yourselves. Greater than any of us."

"If that's the case, I'd say we've been doing all right up till now," Reeve said.

"You think you'll ride in here like heroes of legend and make everything right again?" Sigil replied. "You're living in a childish fantasy."

"Better than to live in despair," Vincent replied.

Sigil shook his head again. "This battle was lost eons ago. You fight shadows in the shapes of men, and you will lose. I only pray you do not wipe out the last of us in the process."

With these words, the old man departed, heading inside the council chamber.

"It doesn't look like we're getting any answers out of him," Reeve said.

"Come on," Vincent said, looking at his two companions. "Let's get back to the Highwind. We need to start planning our attack."

* * *

"She's a beauty, ain't she?"

Cloud circled around the dune buggy, examining Cid's handiwork. The sturdy old desert vehicle had been outfitted with armour plating and ranged weaponry, in addition to a new coat of paint consisting of more earthen colours, to keep it from drawing so much attention in an urban environment. All in all, it looked more like a military contraption than the old transport that they had once relied upon to cross the deserts of the western continent.

"You turned our dune buggy into a tank?" he asked.

"Well, not exactly," Cid said. "But I figured we should have some added protection, so I fixed up Highwind Junior, here. Made it so it ain't just a sitting duck if we get caught in a firefight."

"'Highwind Junior'?" Cloud asked.

"Got tired of calling it 'the buggy'," Cid replied. "Figured it could use a real name."

"Smart thinking," Cloud said. "Where'd you get the guns?"

"Same place we got the rest of our hardware," Cid said, looking out over the Astra capital. "We've been leading scouting parties into the city, raiding factories and old military depots where we can. Here, check this out."

The captain led Cloud over to the far side of the compound that Avalanche and the Cetra had built around the gate leading to the Astra homeworld, where they were met with an array of jeeps, tanks and small fighter aircraft.

"You salvaged all of these from here?" Cloud asked, inspecting the collection of vehicles.

"Yup," Cid said, beaming with pride. "Got the blueprints, too. I'm telling you, these Astra people sure knew their tech."

"No kidding," Cloud said, looking over one of the fighters. There were two kinds, as far as he could tell: sleeker, more combat-oriented models, as well as larger aircraft which might be used to help with the evacuation efforts. "This is quite the assembly you've got here."

"What can I say? I always did want to command my own air fleet," Cid said.

"Nice work," Cloud said. "Maybe we have a chance to win this thing, after all."

"Right. So, that's the good news," Cid said. "Now, here's the bad," he added, handing Cloud a pair of binoculars. He walked over to the edge of the bulwark facing the inner city, pointing out a spot high on the fortress in the distance. "See those?" he asked.

Cloud peered at the shapes that Cid was pointing out. It didn't take him long to recognize them.

"Anti-aircraft guns?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Cid said. "They'll rip us to shreds if we try to close in on the fortress by air."

"So, it's a ground war," Cloud said. "We can still use the fighters to assist with the battle."

"Gonna be tough to get through those blockades, though," Cid said, pointing out the debris lining the roads leading towards the fortress. "If we had the Highwind with us, we could punch right through those things. Would make the ground forces a lot easier to take out, too."

"We'll just have to make do without it," Cloud said. "There's no way we're gonna fit it through that gate."

"Yeah... It's a shame I can't bring the old girl into the fight," Cid replied. "I'm sitting on a fuckton of ordnance that's just dying to be used."

"I know what you mean," Cloud said. "If we had the time to spare, I'd suggest taking the Highwind apart and pulling it through the gate, piece by piece."

"But we don't have that kind of time, do we?" Cid asked.

Cloud shook his head. "We need to launch our attack soon. Otherwise, we lose the initiative."

"And leave ourselves vulnerable to a counter-attack, to boot," Cid added.

"Yeah.."

"One more thing," Cid said, pointing out something else, a row of pipelines leading up to a series of circular buildings surrounding the main fortress. "See those? They've been laying power lines all over the place. All hooked up to those contraptions in the centre Remind you of anything?"

"They look like mako reactors," Cloud said.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Cid said. "Ever since we arrived, they've been powering these things up. They've been sucking up energy like crazy for the past few days. What do you suppose they're up to?"

"Can't be anything good," Cloud said. "We need to hurry."

"Yeah, I think we've seen enough here," Cid said. "Let's get back to the others."

So saying, the two of them departed, heading back through the gate leading to the catacombs underneath the old Cetra palace.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, the Avalanchers were all gathered inside the Highwind's briefing room, having concluded the last of their preparations. They encircled the long table in its centre, awaiting their final briefing.

"So... what's the plan, chief?" Cid asked, turning to Cloud.

Cloud walked over to the table, pressing a switch on its side panel, causing the lights inside the room to dim. The centre of the table sunk down a few inches as a grid of lights contained within it painted a holographic map of the battlefield in the middle of the room, pieced together from the data they had acquired on their scouting missions. The others moved in closer, studying the wireframe map of the Astra capital as he explained the plan.

"This is our target," Cloud said, pointing out the tall structure at the far end of the map. "Acheron. Comus's fortress on the Astra homeworld. Our mission parameters are as follows: We assault the fortress, breach one of its weak points, free the prisoners, then blow the foundations."

He pressed another button, causing the map to generate several triangular shapes in red and blue colours, representing the two opposing sides. The holographic image flickered ever so slightly as he reached inside of it, shifting the holographic shapes around, indicating the general course of the battle.

"After that," he continued, "we retreat to the compound, head back through the gate to the Cetra palace, and demolish the gate on our side. Then we use the star charts in the palace to find a way back home."

"Simple as that, huh?" Cid said.

"I'm not saying it'll be easy," Cloud replied, "but I'd say we have a fighting chance now."

"Those AA guns are going to make things more difficult for us, though," Reeve pointed out.

"True," Vincent said. "But we can use the gravity blocks Cid and Yuffie found to box the enemy in, and control their movements on the ground."

"Force them to play by our rules, in other words," Tifa said.

"In essence, yes," Vincent replied. "We're up against superior numbers, so the only way we're going to win is by getting creative in terms of keeping the enemy at bay."

"So the plan is to draw them out of the fortress and trap them in the city," Cloud said. "That way, we'll be facing less resistance once we're on the inside."

"What about the fortress itself?" Nanaki asked.

"As you can see, the upper half of the fortress isn't nearly as secure as the lower parts," Vincent said. "But we won't be able to approach that directly. However, there is a key weak point down near the bottom half, where the vehicle storage bay is located. That'll be our point of entry."

"Gonna be a real slugfest, though, if we're going by the ground," Barret said.

"We'll lose people," Cloud said. "But we'll lose a lot more if we keep delaying."

"No doubt," Reeve said.

"We can't make much use of materia, either," Nanaki said. "The Astra homeworld just isn't strong enough to support it. They've already sucked up most of the Lifestream out of their planet."

"And it looks like they're sucking up whatever's left right now," Yuffie said. "We really kicked the hornet's nest here, huh?"

"You can say that again," Reeve said. "Comus seems to be consolidating all of his power within this one facility."

He reached inside the hologram, and the triangles playing out the battle scenario faded away, replaced by a series of pale green lines, representing the mako pipelines, all leading up to the fortress at the centre of the city. "However, this presents us with an opportunity," he continued. "The mako that they're gathering would have to be moved to a central location to be processed," he added, pointing out a central chamber within the fortress. "Somewhere around here."

"During this process, it would be highly volatile," Nanaki added.

"So we've jury-rigged a set of explosives to be placed in the heart of the processing plant," Reeve said. "That should set off a chain reaction that'll tear the fortress apart from the inside. So, that's where we take the bomb."

"Nice," Cid said, grinning.

"Good work, everyone," Cloud said, looking over the group.

"So, last but not least, how do we deal with Comus himself?" Tifa asked.

"We know we can't kill him," Vincent said. "At least, not by conventional means."

"If we do run into him, I'll keep him at bay while the rest of you guys carry out the mission," Cloud said.

"You sure about that?" Vincent asked.

"I can't kill him," Cloud said. "But he can't kill me, either, right?"

"Kid's got a point," Cid said. "We don't need to kill him. We just need to keep him at bay long enough to blow the place. After that, we leave him in the rubble. End of story."

"What if he escapes?" Yuffie asked.

"Even if he somehow survives the attack, he won't have anywhere else to go," Nanaki said.

"How do you figure that?" Barret asked.

"The Astra planet's resources are almost depleted," Nanaki said. "If we take out their fortress, it's unlikely that they'll be able to recover. They certainly won't be able to muster the energy or the resources required to teleport off-world."

"So, they'll be stuck on that graveyard of a planet forever," Cid said. "Sounds like a fitting end to me."

"Anything else?" Vincent asked.

"I think that about wraps it up," Reeve said.

"It's nearly seven," Cloud said, checking his watch. "If you guys have any final preparations you need to make, now's the time. Everyone else, go get some rest. I'll see you on the battlefield tomorrow."

"What, no big speeches?" Cid asked.

"What was it you said about platitudes again?" Cloud replied, turning to Vincent.

"Sometimes they're a necessary evil," Vincent replied.

"Sure," Cloud said. "Anyway, we all know what we need to do. It'll be sundown in a minute. Let's make sure we're all set before then."

"All right. See you in the morning," Tifa said.

With that, the Avalanchers dispersed from the briefing room, heading back to their quarters for the night.

* * *

Cold light emanating from blue mako eyes pierced the gloom of the tiny sleeping quarters. Cloud lay awake in bed, for what seemed like the millionth night in a row. Ever since his return from the Astra homeworld, he couldn't sleep and, for whatever reason, he couldn't help the feeling that he was being watched.

He glanced down at Yuffie's sleeping form, her chest heaving slowly as she rested her head on his chest, looking peaceful and content. He tried to follow suit, relaxing in her arms for what might be their last night together, but no matter how he tried, sleep would not come to him.

As he leaned back again, he shifted his position slightly, causing her to stir. "Sorry," he said, looking down at her again. "Did I wake you up?"

Yuffie nodded, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"It's all right," Cloud said, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Go back to sleep."

"Too late," Yuffie replied, raising herself up. "I'm wide awake, and I think I might need some help getting back to sleep," she added, with a mischievous grin.

Cloud smiled. "Is that so?" he asked, as she leaned in closer. She wrapped her arms around him, and they kissed, forgetting their troubles for a moment in each other's arms.

During their second kiss, however, she broke off as she spotted something through the bedroom window.

"What's that?" she asked, raising herself to a sitting position.

Cloud sat up as well, looking out through the window. There was a burning trail in the sky, edging ever closer to the ground, just outside the city limits.

"Is that a shooting star?" she asked.

"...No," Cloud said, observing the strange phenomenon. "It's not."

A few moments later, they were dressed and headed for the observation deck, where the other Avalanche members were already gathered, peering out at the lights in the sky. There were other trails forming, following the one they had spotted through their window, all headed for the outskirts of the city.

"...The hell _is_ that?" Cid asked.

"It looks like a meteor shower," Tifa said.

"It's not," Vincent said, looking over at the others. "We're under attack."

"Son of a bitch.." Cid muttered. "They beat us to the punch."

"We need to get down there, see what's happening," Cloud said.

"We've already alerted the troops," Nanaki said. "Good thing we called them back from the underground city. If this is anything like the last batch, it looks like we've got a real fight on our hands."

"We'll take the buggy," Tifa said. "We can check out the first landing site."

"All right," Cloud said. "Yuffie and I will head for the second one."

"I'll head for the third point," Cid said. "I can direct the rest of our troops from the air."

As they scrambled to the storage bay, Tifa noticed that there was someone missing. "Where's Reeve?" she asked.

"Said he was headed for the underground city," Barret replied, taking the buggy's wheel. "Wanted to do a final check-up of his gear."

"He can hold the fort there while we examine this threat," Vincent said.

"Okay," Cloud said, gunning the engine of his motorcycle. "Let's move."

Moments later, they were burning across the desert in the early morning light, heading for the point in the distance where fire was raining from the sky. The team spread out from the centre, with the buggy headed one way, the Highwind another, and Cloud and Yuffie headed for the third point of contact. The meteor had already impacted the ground by the time they arrived, but to their surprise, they found the crater empty, aside from a hollow metal shell lying in its centre.

"Strange," Yuffie said, examining the crater as they drove past.

"A dud, maybe?" Cloud replied.

"Sure looks like it," Yuffie said.

"Cid, have you found anything?" Cloud asked, pressing a finger against his earpiece.

"We've reached the landing site," Cid's voice came over the radio. "Ran into a few Jenova creatures. Came crawling out of the shell that cracked open here."

"Any problems?" Cloud asked.

"No, nothing like what we fought the other day," Cid replied. "We've got'em all, I think. As an attack force, they're pretty much a joke, if you ask me."

"Vincent, anything on your end?" Cloud asked.

"Just a bunch of empty craters," Vincent said.

"Same here," Nanaki said. "I'm with one of the scouting parties. These craters are all empty. There's nothing here."

Having concluded their investigation, the Avalanchers all circled around to meet up in the middle of the desert surrounding the city. As they gathered around the largest crater, they heard several more reports coming in over the radio, all confirming the same thing. A few stragglers here and there, but no real attack.

"What the hell's going on?" Cid asked as he came marching down the Highwind's loading ramp.

"...A feint," Cloud said, as he realized what was happening.

"What?" Barret asked.

"This isn't the real attack," Cloud told the others. "It's taking place somewhere else."

"Where?" Tifa replied.

They could already guess, but before any of them could speak up, a burst of static came across their radios. Reeve's voice, by the sound of it, although it was impossible to make out what he was saying over the sheer noise flooding the channel.

"Reeve? Reeve, come in," Cloud said. "What's going on?"

"I'm in the underground city," Reeve replied, his words barely audible over the static. "We're under attack!"

They looked up at each other, realizing they had fallen for the ruse. The underground city was the real target. And with nearly all of their forces concentrated on the surface, it was open to an attack. Without any further delay, they took off again, heading back to the underground city, hoping to repel the invasion before it was too late. But time was not on their side..

* * *

**Author's notes**

Hey, guys. Again, I'm breaking things down into smaller chapters, since the chapter lengths keep threatening to spiral out of control. And again, there's no promises on when the next part will be out, but hopefully I'll get it done sooner rather than later.

Also, in case anyone's wondering about Vincent's remark, "Ex nihilo nihil fit" is an old Latin phrase meaning "Nothing can come from nothing". I don't know what the exact origin of the phrase is, though I suspect that "De Rerum Natura" had a lot to do with it's propagation.

Speaking of cryptic replies, the title for this chapter might seem a little odd. It'll make sense later on, trust me.

Anyway, that's all for now. Thanks again for reading, leave a review or a thumbs-up or something if you like this story etc, etc.

Cheers,  
Outfoxed


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